Muthagoose's Pick O' The Week

[muthagoose]

Alriiiiiiiiiiiiighttttt.... this on goes out to all your crazy lovers out there on Valentine's Day... keep it swingin' hip cats...

My Bloody Valentine



This bizarre little horror movie is set in the mining town of Valentine Bluffs, which may be in Canada, though the odd, indeterminate accents of the cast are perhaps meant to suggest that it is truly a regionless everyland. In a cruel twist of fate, the Bluffers have not celebrated Valentine's Day in 20 years due to a terrible mining accident. This year is to be the first return of the Valentine's Dance--repeatedly described by adults as the biggest event of the year--but someone (or something?) is trying to put a stop to the fun by delivering heart-shaped candy boxes with real hearts in them. The dance is called off in the name of public safety, the young (well, youngish) people decide to hold a party inside the mine instead, and if you think we're getting out of this one without someone getting a pickax through the chest, you have no business watching slasher movies.



Muthagoose Says: Check it out in a "Sin Bin" at a Wal-Mart near you!

[muthagoose]

THE PRESTIGE



Robert Angier (Hugh Jackman) and Alfred Borden (Christian Bale) are rival magicians whose epic obsessive battle to out-do one another's illusions conjures danger and destruction.

Filled with unpredictable twists and turns, The Prestige is the riveting and uniquely twisted film that you can't watch just once. The exceptional cast also includes Michael Caine, Scarlett Johansson and David Bowie.

[muthagoose]

Rage Against The Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

On September 12th and 13th 2000, Rage Against The Machine performed their last two shows ever as a band. On those two nights, Rage proved once again that they were, without a doubt, one of the greatest rock bands to ever hit the stage. Thankfully, a camera crew and a sound crew were on hand to capture both nights. And now, at long last, comes the release of the DVD and CD, Live At The Grand Olympic Auditorium. DVD & CD both produced by Rick Rubin.



Live At The Olympic Auditorium CD The CD, in stores now, features a combination of songs from both nights. Live At The Olympic Auditorium DVD The single-disc cd features all of the Rage hits, including "Killing In The Name," "Bulls On Parade," "Freedom," "Bombtrack," "Bullet In The Head" and more.

The DVD features the concert from the night of September 13th - the final Rage Against The Machine concert!! In addition, the DVD includes bonus footage taken from the band's performance outside the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. The DVD features all of the Rage hits, opening with "Bulls On Parade" and ending with "Freedom." It also features Rage covering the MC5 classic "Kick Out The Jams" and a guest performance from Cypress Hill on "How I Could Just Kill A Man."


Tracklisting

1. Bulls On Parade
2. Bombtrack
3. Calm Like A Bomb
4. Bullet In The Head
5. Sleep Now In The Fire
6. War Within A Breath
7. I'm Housin'
8. Killing In The Name
9. Born Of A Broken Man
10. No Shelter
11. Guerrilla Radio
12. How I Could Just Kill A Man
13. Kick Out The Jams
14. Testify
15. Freedom

1. Set List
2. People Of The Sun
3. Know Your Enemy
4. How I Could Just Kill A Man
5. Bombtrack- Alternate Video

[muthagoose]

Tenacious D In The Pick Of Destiny



DVD Features:

* Available Subtitles: English, Spanish

* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1 EX), English (DTS 6.1 ES Discrete), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

* Commentary by: Jack Black and Kyle GassUnknown Format

* 14 deleted/extended scenes, plus alternate endings and outtakes

* The Making of The Pick of Destiny

* In the Studio

* Music video

* The making of the music video

* "Jump to a song" feature

* Trailers

[muthagoose]

CHAINSAW SALLY

What is it?: A Maryland Horror movie made by people with actual talent!

Featuring horror legends Gunnar Hansen (the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre") and Herschell Gordon Lewis (2000 Maniacs, Blood Feast)



Long after the sun has set in Porterville, the still of the night is shattered by the screams of a chainsaw…and the cries of flesh-ripping punishment.

At the age of ten, Sally Diamon witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. Alone in the world, she raised her little brother as best she could, haunted by nightmarish memories of the killings and savoring an ever-growing taste for revenge. Sally is now a quiet young woman - timid and harmless most locals would say. But they don't know a thing about Sally, who is obsessed with the gruesome images of violence, torture and retribution. Sally might live the life of a small town librarian by day, yet she is something completely different by night. And the night is coming and the hunt will begin afresh, with Chainsaw Sally acting as judge, jury and bloody executioner of those who are evil in her eyes.

DVD Contents:

- CHAINSAW SALLY Feature Film

- COMMENTARY with Director Jimmy O and April "Sally" Burril

- MAKING OF Documentary

- GUNNAR HANSEN Interview

- H.G. LEWIS Interview

- SILENCE Music Video By Piss Ant

- SALLY ARTWORK Gallery

[muthagoose]

Mattel Classic Baseball



You can scoop this bad boy up at Giant for only 7 bones. I highly recommend checking it out. The also have Classic Football for the same rock bottom price!

I had the orignal version of this game when I was a little kid growing up. It was a great way to while away the hours on long car trips or a rainy day.

I must say that I'm really impressed that Mattel preserved the authenticity of the game right down to the color of the casing, the buttons and sounds.

For those of you who are chasing your long-gone youth like I am, this is a great throw-back to another era. I highly recommend it!

[muthagoose]

Rocky Balboa

'Rocky Balboa' examines one of America's greatest icons at a vulnerable period in his life--middle age. A former heavyweight boxing champion, known and renown throughout the world for going the distance, Rocky finds a new venture: giving back to his community. This is where he, once more, finds himself at the opposing side of opportunity, not unlike the one he has seen decades ago.

Heavyweight champ Mason Dixon and his representation offer Rocky a shot for the title. For Balboa, it'll be one last hurrah he'll never forget.....but with his glory days far behind him can he withstand the inevitabilities of what's to come? A look at going full circle and wanting more, when life turns out how you least expect it and then some.

DVD Features:

* Available Subtitles: English, French
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
* Commentary by: Sylvester StalloneUnknown Format
* Deleted Scenes including an alternate ending
* Boxing Bloopers
* Skill vs. Will: The Making of Rocky Balboa
* Reality in the Ring: Filming Rocky’s Final Fight
* Virtual Champion: Creating the Computer Fight

[muthagoose]

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of Slasher Films

Feeling Nostalgic For Teenage Blood Letting?

Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of Slasher Films in an amazing Documentary that goes behind the story, scenes, sets, and scandal that came and went with all the previous Slasher Films of the past. This Documentary doesn't go as far as Nosfaratu, but From as Early as Wes Craven's Most creative and scary film, "The Last House on the Left" to more recent slasher films like "Hostel". For a 90 minute documentary, it does not bore to hear how many Slasher films tried to mimic the very first and very creative films before them, like "Friday the 13th", and how many underwent controversy to try to get recognized, some for reasonable ways, and others that tried to get shock value by having commericals that advertised such films. If you are Squemish, the various films that are shown might bother you, as every film tries to show off a few of the death Scenes in their movies.

If you are a fan of the Slasher film, be it a very close follower of the genre, or a new beginner to the series, it's good to know why the roots of Horror once began, and it's very apparent and clear, as long as there are viewers, People that can write scripts, and actors, Horror Films are here to stay.

[muthagoose]

Night of the Comet

"It was the last thing on earth they ever expected."



Night of the Comet took advantage of the return of Halley's Comet hype which ran through nation and pretty much most of the world throughout most of 1984 and into 1985. Hollywood being the opportunist industry that it was and still is were quick to produce and release a movie about the return of Halley's Comet over the planet as soon as possible. The 1980's was a good decade for the low to mid-budgeted horror and sci-fi movies which had a quick death at the box-office but which gained success and cult status in the many displays racks of the tens of thousands of video rental places. 1984's Night of the Comet was one of these films and it typifies the cheesiness that was 1980's scifi horror.

The film opens up with everyone partying the arrival of Halley's Comet which could be seen in the night sky every 75-76 years. People are out on the streets as night falls celebrating the Comet's arrival and we meet two of the main characters in the film in the form of Regina and Samantha. Two sisters who truly epitomizes the mall and valley culture of 1980's Southern California, Regina and Samantha are not enjoying the night of the comet as Regina ends up working the night shift at the local theater she works at and Samantha is stuck at home with her stepmother and all the partygoers attending her stepmom's party. In the span of a few sequences both Regina and Samantha end up locking themselves up somewhere quiet and safe to get away from the party going on around them.

While they stew in their own little hideaways the comet makes its pass over the planet with everyone who can see looking up to take a peek of the returning comet. What happens next sets up the rest of the movie. The comet seem to have turned anyone not protected behind heavy steel structures into red dust and those only half-protected end up turning into zombie-like creatures. Luckily for the two sisters they were inside such heavy steel structures when the comet did its pass over and well-protected. The rest of the movie deals with Regina and Samantha dealing with the possibility that they may be the last people on the planet (though this soon get shotdown with the arrival of Captain Chakotay of Star Trek Voyager...I mean Robert Beltran) and trying to keep themselves from being eaten by the zombie survivors and being tested upon by shady, secret government scientists.

[The Duke]

The above "Going to PIeces" seems like a great pick. I am not much of a horr fan anymore, but those earlier "slasher" films were the best. I especially was a fan of Nightmare on Elm Street and the Friday the 13th series. I will defintely be checking this one out.

[muthagoose]

METH COFFEE

- -

Meth Coffee Launches with Super Caffeinated Brew

Meth Coffee, a rebel coffee company in San Francisco, opened for business today with the launch of its hard- hitting coffee roast for energy addicts and caffeine freaks. Meth's super- caffeinated beans are amplified by the addition of yerba mate, a powerful natural stimulant and antioxidant used by shamans of the Amazon for boosting stamina and mental clarity. Boasting an intense buzz and cocoa-tobacco finish, Meth Coffee is fresh-roasted within 48 hours of shipment to jumpstart workaholics, thrill seekers, artists, and subversives seeking an exciting new fuel for their endeavors.

- -

Unique Taste and Buzz with Antioxidants

The flavor of Meth Coffee's Arabian and South American beans with yerba mate starts as a smooth, herbaceous attack that runs to a soft tobacco-cocoa finish. Yerba mate's presence produces a gradual buzz arc for periods of intense play and creativity that some drinkers find more cerebral than coffee alone. Research has shown that yerba mate contains mateine, an alkaloid stimulant similar to those found in coffee and chocolate, as well as significant antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compounds.

- -

Meth Coffee's Origin

Meth Coffee was the brainchild of a self-styled anarchist, caffeine addict, and conspiracy theorist known only as The Roaster.

"I see the corporate 'corner cafe' coffee klatch scene as guilty of lulling drinkers with mediocre beans, burnt roasts, and free napkins -- it's psychotronic mind control, pure and simple," said The Roaster. "Combining the smoothest beans with yerba mate's animal buzz has created an intense new drug for coffee addicts who are searching for the highest quality junk."

- -

Where to Buy Meth Coffee

Meth Coffee is available immediately on the Internet at $12 per 10-ounce bag in ground or whole beans at www.methcoffee.com/coffee.



- -

About Meth Coffee

Founded in San Francisco, Calif. in 2006, Meth Coffee comprises paranoid conspiracy theorists, headbangers, goths, and other caffeine freaks dedicated to detonating the typical gourmet coffee scene. A hand-crafted blend of super-caffeinated coffee beans and yerba mate, a powerful natural stimulant and antioxidant kept secret by Amazonian shamans for centuries, Meth's intense formula is guaranteed to enhance energy and concentration for coffee addicts, spazzes, and workaholics. Meth Coffee is fresh-roasted within 48 hours of shipment and can be purchased online at www.methcoffee.com/coffee. Affiliate and dealer programs available.

For more information, visit
www.methcoffee.com/coffee.

Official Website:

www.methcoffee.com/

[The Duke]

Now I have certainly seen it all!

And, the Duke finally has 1,000 posts!!!!!!!

[MASON]

This Meth Coffee is going to hurt my buisness out of my basement!

[muthagoose]

Official Site:
yellowarrow.net/capitolofpunk/

For those interested in Washington punk rock of the 1980s, there's no shortage of ways to learn about the scene. You could listen to Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Fugazi. You could watch the documentary "American Hardcore." Or you could stand outside the Starbucks at Seventh and E streets Northwest and wait for a text message.

That's the idea behind Capitol of Punk, an interactive tour of 10 D.C. punk landmarks. If you send the text message "DCSPACE" to the number 67067, your cell phone will direct you on a guided treasure hunt, starting with factoids about the building at Seventh and E. (Organizers also have drawn a map of the tour locations, which is available online.)

In the dozen or so text messages, you'll learn that until 1991, the Starbucks site was an all-ages art and music venue called D.C. Space. You'll read anecdotes about bands seeing how fast they could play the Monkees' song "(I'm Not Your) Stepping Stone." Government Issue set the record, it turns out, finishing in 12 seconds.

Put that in your Frappuccino and sip it.

"When you're there, it's hard to believe," says 26-year-old project director Christopher Allen. "There's no marking. There's no way to see that history. It's invisible."

Capitol of Punk is the brainchild of Yellow Arrow, a New York project that is part of a company called Counts Media. The group has created similar text-message tours for New Orleans' Voodoo Music Festival and New York's East Village.

Unlike those tours, the D.C. project includes films about each location, which are available at www.yellowarrow.net, along with the tour map.

"You get the sensation you're actually getting messages from actual musicians that are guiding you through the city," Executive Producer Jesse Shapins says.

Kara Oehler, a Yellow Arrow contributor and radio journalist, helped conceive the Capitol of Punk tour while working on a segment about music for American Public Media's "Marketplace." Oehler, 28, grew up listening to punk in Indianapolis and served as the group's expert on the subject.

Oehler, Shapins and Allen started working on the project in January. During interviews with 15 or so musicians, Oehler asked them to point to significant locations on a giant map of Washington.

"They would see what someone else had marked and they would say, 'Oh, I remember that!' " Oehler says.

Allen says his position as a D.C. punk outsider helped the final product: "I wanted to make this accessible for people who didn't understand all the people and all the bands," he says.

Fugazi front man Ian MacKaye tells the story of his first show with the band Teen Idles. He hit the E chord on his guitar, a string broke and then somebody threw a beer can that hit him in the face.

"It's real Washington history. It's real culture," he says. "Those of us who are from Washington, we don't live in the marble buildings."

Other sites on the tour include Fort Reno, an outdoor music venue; the South African Embassy, where bands met and drummed against apartheid; and the old site of Madam's Organ, 2318 18th St. N.W., now home to Crooked Beat Records (Madam's Organ is across the street).

The group also interviewed former Washington Mayor Marion Barry, since so many people they spoke to praised his policies during that era. Barry created a summer jobs program in which the city guaranteed everyone ages 14 to 21 a job or work experience, which included playing music.

"The project isn't just about music," Shapins says. "It's about the city as seen through music."

Note: Text-message tours are free.




What is Yellow Arrow?
Yellow Arrow is one of the newest concepts to hit the streets in New York City and Washingto, DC.

Here’s how it works: thousands of YellowArrow stickers are distributed at various events such as concerts, gallery openings and festivals around town. Each sticker features a code. Participants place the arrows on anything and everything (pointing onlookers towards a specific place/object) as a means to share opinions, tips and trivia to passersby. When an arrow is spotted, passersby can text the code to Yellowarrow.org, and then receive a text back, with an explanation for that particular sticker. YellowArrow has plans to expand to San Francisco and LA this fall.

This exchange of information seems to be creating a sense of community, something that young people today are increasingly looking for. Don’t be surprised to see some yellow arrows around your neighborhood.

[muthagoose]

PHANTASM

The Original Classic From The Director Of THE BEASTMASTER and BUBBA HO-TEP...



Jody is the kind of guy that every 1970s teen looked up to. He's in his early 20s, has a cool car, splendid '70s hair, leather jacket, plays guitar and (naturally) snags all the girls. His little brother, Mike, in particular, admires him and emulates him at every turn. Things start to go astray, however, when the two brothers and their friend Reggie attend a funeral for a friend. Mike notices a tall man working at the funeral home; in the course of his snooping, he sees the tall man put a loaded coffin into the back of a hearse as easily as if it was a shoebox. Jody doesn't believe his little brother's stories, though, until he brings home the tall man's severed finger, still wriggling in what appears to be French's mustard. From there, the film picks up a terrific momentum that doesn't let up until the sequel-ripe twist ending.

Phantasm was one of the first horror movies to break the unspoken rule that victims were supposed to scream, fall down, and cower until they were killed. Instead, Mike and Jody are resourceful and smart, aggressively pursuing the evil inside the funeral home with a shotgun and Colt pistol. Furthermore, the script has a great deal of character development, especially in the relationship between the two brothers. The film even has a surprisingly glossy look, despite its low-budget origins, and little outright gore (except for the infamous steel spheres that drill into victims' heads). This drive-in favorite was a big success at the time of its release, and spawned three sequels. Little wonder; it includes an inventive story, likable characters, a runaway pace, and, of course, evil dwarves cloaked in Army blankets. The end result is one of the better horror films of the late 1970s. Hot-rod fans take note: Jody drives a Plymouth Hemi 'Cuda, the pinnacle of 1960s muscle cars, rounding out his status as a Cool Guy.

The Plot:
Mike, a young teenage boy who has just lost his parents, is afraid to lose his brother. This fear causes him to follow his brother to a funeral, where Mike witnesses the Tall Man lift a coffin on his own. Mike decides to investigate and discovers a horrible world where the Tall Man, along with his flying spheres, shrink the to half their normal size and reanimate them as slaves. It is then up to Mike, his brother, and Reggie the ice cream man to stop the Tall man.

DVD Features:

* Available Audio Tracks: English (DTS 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)

* Commentary by: Don Coscarelli, Michael Baldwin, Angus Scrimm, and Bill Thornbury Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround

* Phantasmagoria: 30-minute documentary and interviews with cast and crew

* Deleted scenes

* Behind-the-scenes

* Actors having a ball

* TV Interview

* TV Commercial with Angus Scrimm

* Angus Scrimm convention appearance

* Trailers for Phantasm and Phantasm III

* TV Spots

[muthagoose]

IVAN DRAGO: Justice Enforcer!

Official Site:
www.i-mockery.com/minimocks/ivan-drago/default.php

Rocky IV commie villian Ivan Drago is finally the star of his own video game, Ivan Drago Justice Enforcer. This Double Dragon-style brawler pits the steroid enhanced boxer against all manner of street walking scum. From Stabby Jenkins to Sport McJockitch, you must jab your way through droves of undesirables... well for these reasons:

America has lost itself to madness and anarchy. Only one person can restore order... IVAN DRAGO! As the most powerful boxer in the universe, you must guide Drago through the tough city streets and beyond to find out the source of all this chaos. Let no one stand in your way!

And really, when you hit with 1850 pounds of pressure per square inch no one stands in your way. That the game allows you to air-juggle babies, gain health by drinking vodka, punch Segway riding schmucks, not to mention box a DINOSAUR, means this is already the best Flash-based game of 2007.

Take your raw Soviet power to the streets and make 'em run red with the blood of all lawbreakers. "Ivan Drago: Justice Enforcer" features 3 unlockable characters, a variety of super combo moves, a mini-game and much more. It will also save your progress, so each time you unlock a new character, it will stay unlocked even after you've closed your browser window!

This game is dedicated to all of the "Rocky" films that we grew up on.

[muthagoose]

Pan's Labyrinth



Plot Synopsis:
In 1944 fascist Spain, a girl, fascinated with fairy-tales, is sent along with her pregnant mother to live with her new stepfather, a ruthless captain of the Spanish army. During the night, she meets a fairy who takes her to an old faun in the center of the labyrinth. He tells her she's a princess, but must prove her royalty by surviving three gruesome tasks. If she fails, she will never prove herself to be the the true princess and will never see her real father, the king, again.

Review:
Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, Jorge Luis Borges, and Guillermo del Toro's own unlimited imagination, Pan's Labyrinth is a fairytale for adults. Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) may only be 12, but the worlds she inhabits, both above and below ground, are dark as anything del Toro has conjured. Set in rural Spain, circa 1944, Ofelia and her widowed mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil, Belle Epoque), have just moved into an abandoned mill with Carmen's new husband, Captain Vidal (Sergi López, With a Friend like Harry). Carmen is pregnant with his son. Other than her sickly mother and kindly housekeeper Mercedes (Maribel Verdú, Y Tu Mamá También), the dreamy Ofelia is on her own. Vidal, an exceedingly cruel man, couldn't be bothered. He has informers to torture. Ofelia soon finds that an entire universe exists below the mill. Her guide is the persuasive Faun (Doug Jones, Mimic). As her mother grows weaker, Ofelia spends more and more time in the satyr's labyrinth. He offers to help her out of her predicament if she'll complete three treacherous tasks. Ofelia is willing to try, but does this alternate reality really exist or is it all in her head? Del Toro leaves that up to the viewer to decide in a beautiful, yet brutal twin to The Devil's Backbone, which was also haunted by the ghost of Franco. Though it lacks the humor of Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth represents Guillermo Del Toro at the top of his considerable game.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Video Prologue by Guillermo Del Toro Audio Commentary by Director Guillermo Del Toro

Featurette:The Power of Myth Featurette The Faun and the Fairies Featurette The Color and The Shape Featurette The Charlie Rose Show featuring Director Guillermo Del Toro The Director's Notebook

Production Sketches

Storyboards:Storyboard Video Prologue by Guillermo del Toro. Storyboard/Thumbnail compares

Theatrical Trailer:Theatrical teaser, Theatrical trailer, TV spots

[The Duke]

Skipping back up to "Ivan Drago: Justice Enforcer", if you have not played it yet, it is a must do. Very fun and entertaining, and defintely worth a laugh or two.

[muthagoose]

Not only is it fun... but I have to say it is really challenging!

I have still yet to beat it. I sense a mystical quest in Muthagoose's future!

[muthagoose]

Porky's: The One Size Fits All Edition



Reviled by critics and embraced by the public during its initial run (1981), Porky's is interesting to watch after all these years. What holds up about this horny coming-of-age tale is remarkable. Writer/director Bob Clark has little more than sex and practical joking on his mind, and his high school seniors from Angel Beach, Florida, rapidly move from one to the other. Clark displays a sense of timing and, perhaps rarer still, a sense of male friendship--its brutalities and its bonds--that feels right, not artificial. Surprisingly, the showcase practical jokes are still funny: the Everglades encounter with Cherry Forever, the hole in the girls' shower, and Beulah Balbricker, the humongous gym teacher. The comedic set-ups and payoffs surprisingly still work. Clark's insistence on a subplot about anti-Semitism, however, still sticks out as A MESSAGE. Kim Cattrall really got her start here (although almost no one else did) as Ms. Honeywell, a.k.a. "Lassie." Clark later distanced himself from the irritating Porky's sequels and went on to make the wonderful Christmas Story, the tale of a little boy who wants a BB gun for Christmas.

DVD Features:

* Commentary by Director Bob Clark

* Porkys Through The Peephole: Bob Clark Looks Back

* Porky's: A Comedy Classic

* Theatrical Trailer

* Porky's 2: The Morning After Trailer

* Porky'sRevenge Trailer

* Porky's Video Game Presentation

[muthagoose]

CBGB Forever



1. Favorite Son - Green Day

2. Hanging On The Telephone

3. Danny says - Foo Fighters

4. My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down (Bonzo Goes To Bitburg) - Ramones

5. Beat On The Brat - U2

6. Life Burning Wartime - Talking Heads

7. Mountain - Good Charlotte

8. Till Victory - Patti Smith Group

9. Time Bomb - Rancid

10. New Rose - The Damned

11. Cochise - Audioslave

12. I Don't Understand - The Chesterfield Kings

13. Do It For The Kids - Velvet Revolver

14. Sonic Reducer - Dead Boys


“CBGB Forever” is a fantastic tribute to the greatest rock club. Little Steven reached out to many of his friends to put together this brilliant collection. “CBGB Forever” features rare tracks from Green Day, U2 and The Foo Fighters, cuts from the bands who played there (including The Ramones, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, and Blondie), as well as contributions from the bands they spawned, like Rancid, Good Charlotte and Audioslave.

[muthagoose]

Smokin' Aces

Slick Las Vegas illusionist Buddy "Aces" Israel isn't playing nice. Turns out, he's telling mob secrets to the FBI. After a $1 million contract is put out on him, Aces tries to pull his greatest disappearing act before a rogues' gallery of ex-cons, hit men and smokin' hot assassins tries to rub him out in this dark action comedy that takes no prisoners.

A frantic and frequently amusing cocktail of Tarantino cool and Hong Kong bullet ballet, Joe (Narc) Carnahan's Smokin' Aces delivers some inspired moments of action and dark comedy in its dizzying-comic book plot about a rogue's gallery of killers on the hunt for a mob informer. At the core of Carnahan's bloody shaggy-dog tale is Buddy Israel (Jeremy Piven, offering a more desperate take on his standard hustler persona), a Vegas magician who's turned informant against the mobsters who have treated him as their personal entertainment. Wishing to close Buddy's overactive mouth permanently, the mob capo puts a bounty on the two-bit showman's head, and a horde of hitmen descends on Buddy's digs to claim the prize. The unholy crew of gunmen offer the movie's most inspired (and outlandish) moments, with R&B singer Alicia Keys (as a cool, Foxy Brown-esque assassin), Nestor Carbonell (as a torture-minded sadist), Ben Affleck and Peter Berg (low-key bail bondsmen) and Chris Pine (the leader of a trio of semi-savage brothers) among the more memorable villains. Ryan Reynolds, Ray Liotta, and Andy Garcia represent the other side of the coin as FBI agents determined to get to Buddy before the legion of doom, and the clashes between both factions produce some eye-popping gunplay. If there's any complaint to be made about Smokin' Aces, it's that the tone shifts between action-drama and hipster comedy feel forced (Carnahan struck a firmer balance between the two in his 1998 indie effort, Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane), but the performances and shootout set pieces, as well as Carnahan's hyperactive camera work, do much to make those transitions palatable. Eagle-eyed audience members will note the presence veteran scene stealers Curtis Armstrong (Ray), David Proval (The Sopranos), and Alex Rocco (The Godfather's Moe Green) in supporting roles.

[muthagoose]

A can't miss pick from yours truly... one of the best shows on television... way better then your precious "Entourage" and "24"...

Rescue Me - The Complete Third Season



In Rescue Me's most controversial season, Tommy Glavin's demons really turn up the heat on the seriously damaged New York firefighter. Glavin (Emmy-nominee Denis Leary in searing performances throughout) is wracked with grief over the tragic death of his son and struggles to deal with his estrangement from his wife, Janet (a superb Andrea Roth). In the season's most hotly debated episode, Tommy forces himself on Janet in, initially, non-consensual sex. Later, she takes up with Tommy's brother, Johnny (Dean Winters). By this time, devoted viewers, in the words of one character, know Tommy's every "grunt, tic and tell." But even his ghosts can only laugh at how low he sinks this season ("Next stop, China," Tommy ruefully replies). To get back at Janet and Johnny, he begins to date Angie (guest star Marisa Tomei), Johnny's ex-wife. He continually succumbs to his "basest levels," as when he has sex with the high school science teacher who is having an affair with his godson, Damian. But Tommy is able to show courageous restraint as in the intense scene in which when he is left alone to confront the prime suspect responsible for another tragic death in the family.

Rescue Me's other flawed characters try to contain their own life crises. Chief Reilly (Jack McGee) is in desperate financial straits when the nursing home caring for his wife, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, raises its fees. Sheila (Callie Thorne) goes to her own shocking desperate measures to pursue Tommy. Tommy's father (venerable character actor Charles Durning) is becoming increasingly difficult to care for. Sean (Steven Pasquale) is secretly involved with Tommy's outrageously unstable sister, Maggie (Tatum O'Neal). Franco (Daniel Sujata) meets a "sugar momma" (Susan Sarandon) with devastating consequences. And "Probie" (Michael Lombardi) wrestles with his sexuality. Played mostly for comic relief is Teddy's (Lenny Clarke) stint in jail for the murder of the drunk driver who killed Tommy's son. This third season divided critics and viewers, but the uniformly excellent ensemble grounds even the most outrageous plot turns in reality. And it's a testament to the incisive writing and intimately observed performances that even when these characters behave most unsympathetically and invite the slings and arrows of "a little thing called karma," we are compelled to continue to take them into our homes and hearts. Or, as Tommy might say to that, "Blah, blah, blah."

[muthagoose]

It is an easy pick this week...

RESCUE ME: Season 4



Official Site:
www.rescuemetv.com/


A recent article of this series....

‘Rescue Me’ back, dysfunctional as ever


9 p.m. on FX

Tommy Gavin is a father again — maybe. That's a scary proposition, given the New York firefighter's drinking, violence and general misbehavior, but the fourth-season première of FX's cheerfully abrasive dramedy finds Tommy (co-creator Denis Leary) doing a better job of parenting than his ex-wife, Janet (Andrea Roth), who is convinced that the no-name baby boy doesn't like her. He apparently does like Tommy, even though Tommy's late brother may really be his father.

Those are just a snippet of the story lines begging to be advanced or resolved as "Rescue Me" resumes. Tommy also finds himself under investigation — of arson and insurance fraud — for last season's fire, actually started by his girlfriend, Sheila (Callie Thorne). There are also issues with teenage daughter Colleen (Natalie Distler), who comes home drunk on peppermint schnapps.

Meanwhile, Sean (Steven Pasquale) is having sexual issues with his new wife, Maggie (Tatum O'Neal), who happens to be Tommy's sister. Chief Jerry (Jack McGee), recovering from a heart attack, copes with his son's plans to marry another man. And Lou (John Scurti) is hot and heavy with ex-nun Theresa, including an interlude involving a church organ.

Clearly, "Rescue Me" isn't for everyone, but the fearless, funny series is don't-miss viewing for its legions of fans.

[muthagoose]

The White Stripes: Icky Thump




Muthagoose says: "Check out that Rhinestoned Witch Hat! Now that is metal!"

The White Stripes are back with the most bombastic album they've ever produced! While revealing the band's roots in American folk music, Icky Thump is an explosive, revolutionary assault that brings together garage rock, every blues style of the past 100 years, nouveau, and flamenco. This is truly a modern rock and roll masterpiece!

Tracks Include:

1. Icky Thump

2. You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You're Told)

3. 300 M.P.H. Torrential Outpour Blues

4. Conquest

5. Bone Broke

6. Prickly Thorn, But Sweetly Worn

7. St. Andrew (This Battle Is In The Air)

8. Little Cream Soda

9. Rag And Bone

10. I'm Slowly Turning Into You

11. A Martyr For My Love For You

12. Catch Hell Blues

13. Effect and Cause