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(03/24/10 9:19pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>All musical acts want to differentiate themselves because genres are so derivative these days. But sometimes, trying to be unique means not embracing who you really are. For The Audition, this couldn’t be more true. After a solid pop-punk debut in 2005, the band spent its two subsequent follow-ups trying to be a weird mix of Maroon 5 and Timberlake white-boy funk. It kind of worked, but it felt like something was missing.The sound found on their latest, “Great Danger,” is what was missing. By fully embracing a purely pop sound and ditching the wannabe lothario lyricism, The Audition has crafted the best effort of its career. The first six tracks feature the perfect combination of sky-high hooks and dangerously infectious melodies while being just different enough to sound fresh each time.First single “You Ruined This”and “Can You Remember” lead this group of short energy bursts that plant the toe-tapping seed in your head and quickly get out under three-and-a-half minutes. With the weather improving, this is the prototypical group of tracks to add to your windows-down, shades-on driving excursions. Actually, it’s nearly perfect for any occasion.
(03/24/10 8:48pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Watching HBO’s World War II miniseries, “The Pacific,” over the past few weeks has me thinking: Will the broadcast networks ever embrace the miniseries again?Consider the following:A broadcast miniseries hasn’t been nominated for the Best Miniseries Emmy since CBS’ “Elvis” in 2005.In the last 10 years, only eight of the 39 nominees for Best Miniseries have been from a major network, and five of those eight came in 2000 and 2001. Finally, only ABC’s “Anne Frank: The Whole Story” in 2001 actually won the Best Miniseries award in that time period.Staggering. One might say that just as for all the other Emmys, the cable companies are the ones getting nominated and the broadcast networks are simply getting screwed, even though they still obviously care about the miniseries.But one might be wrong. In recent years, most broadcast networks have decided the best story to tell in the miniseries format is the worldwide disaster. NBC produced “10.5” in 2004, “10.5: Apocalypse” in 2006 and “The Storm” in 2009. CBS did “Category 6: Day of Destruction” in 2004 and “Category 7: The End of the World” in 2005. ABC aired “Impact” in 2008. You get it.One of the major problems with broadcast nets and the mini is that they don’t produce them themselves. Most of those disaster projects were produced by third parties, most likely in Canada.We know why the broadcast powers don’t produce miniseries: the cost. “The Pacific” reportedly cost $250 million, though that’s on a very extreme end of the pole. But the penny-pinching broadcast powers aren’t going to shell out even $50 million for something that would air over only a couple days, especially if they don’t think the ratings will be there. NBC’s summer airing of “The Storm” managed a beautiful .9 in the 18-49 demo and less than 5 million viewers.HBO can manage something like “The Pacific” because they have Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg in tow, they have the pedigree, and they have subscribers providing revenue in case of a ratings failure. But HBO has put itself in that situation by taking chances with the miniseries, and now they have people like Hanks and Spielberg coming to them. They can spend millions of dollars marketing the mini for a year because they know people will watch.But shouldn’t a broadcast network — say NBC — try a similar strategy? It would be on a much tighter budget (especially at first), but the Peacock needs something to be known for, and why couldn’t it be great miniseries? “Minute to Win It” and “The Marriage Ref” aren’t going to make us fall back in love with NBC but a cool miniseries could.And NBC makes the most sense because its parent company is one of the most efficient producers of miniseries. Both USA and SyFy have aired successful minis over the past few years: “Taken,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “The 4400,” “The Lost Room,” “Tin Man,” “Alice” and “The Starter Wife.” A few were fantastic; most of the rest were solid, and only a few were outright dreadful. Thus, while NBC-Universal is strong with the miniseries, NBC is not. It even had its own one lined up with “Day One,” but it constantly saw the show’s order cut, and by the beginning of this year it was basically shelved.Where does that leave us with the miniseries? Probably exactly where we are right now, with most major networks ignoring them unless the title is used as a way to hedge bets with a product that might not be that successful — like what ABC’s doing with the “V” reboot — while HBO and other cable nets dominate the field.
(03/24/10 5:39pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The perfect combination of suffocating, dark character paths and beautiful imagery amid a sea of consequences help make “Breaking Bad” one of the truly great television series on the air.Season two sees cancer patient-turned-meth cooker Walt White (Bryan Cranston) continue down a dangerous road that includes violence, death and destruction at every turn as his addiction to power and money spirals out of control. Meanwhile, his partner Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) battles his own addictions and demons while trying to find his place in the world. “Bad” might seem like “Weeds” for men based on the premise alone, but it’s really far from it. Instead, the usually slow-burning plot is superseded by hotly in-depth character studies of depressed, addicted, miserable people dealing with heavy consequences. Cranston’s a two-time Emmy winner for his performance, and rightfully so, but in season two, Aaron Paul’s powerhouse, emotional performance helps his Jesse become something of a sympathetic hero among a world of wretched people.Though it sometimes has pacing issues when the plot takes over the character study, “Breaking Bad” does the latter better than anyone.
(03/24/10 4:07pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning round two of our television bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less “correct”). Then below that are the results!Round three discussion begins today.---------------------------------------------------------------------Cory Barker: Take a look at the bracket for TV, as we’re now into round 2. Let’s get started!Max McCombs: To get things going, I think the most interesting match-up might be the Daily Show vs Letterman. I’ll take Letterman in it, but I’m guessing others may disagree. Also, I think it is worth noting that half of the remaining comedies are NBC.Chad Quandt: Breaking Bad as an underdog against the mighty Mad Men. Cranston kills it with his performance and I’ve just never been able to get into the long, droning boredom of a MM episode.House feels like an underdog just because Dexter is so popular with the college crowd. I visit House sporadically and loved to see little things change that made it feel fresh. Characters leave (and come back), things seem to evolve more in that serial show. I came back to this season of Dexter (mostly for Lithgow) and couldn’t believe that things seemed exactly the same as they did in Season One. Yes, Rita died. That should be huge. But Dexter the character really feels like someone who hasn’t changed.Supernatural for all the awesome meta-writing they’ve put into the show. It’s gotten a lot more ridiculous in the later seasons, but they seem to be so in-touch with their fans.Really hope we can pull Always Sunny out as a surprise win over The Office. While Michael Scott and Co seem to be floundering in story purgatory, Always Sunny keeps coming up with fun places for the characters to go. Scranton closing would’ve been an excellent place to cap the show, but NBC’s going to milk the series for years. Characters like Phyllis and Stanley have become weird twisted versions of themselves in an attempt to make them THAT hard to work with. Also, Pam and Jim come off like assholes more and less like innocent sane people.It’s a shame that Parks and Rec and Community have no way to go head to head in the bracket. They’re my top picks for the whole thing. Community’s fight in this round is a great example of conventional sitcom cliches going against a show that knows its roots and tries to subvert them.Sarah Hann:DRAMAMad Men is too popular - I agree that Breaking Bad is an underdog.NCIS vs. The Good Wife is hard - they’re both popular shows. I like The Good Wife better, but I think NCIS would beat it.Dexter might be good, but House is sooooo popular and had remained popular after however many seasons.I think i’d say Friday Night Lights over Damages REALITY etc.American Idol, no question here - they’re both long-lasting shows, but against Idol, I don’t think BB has a chance.I don’t really have an opinion on Top Chef vs. Amazing Race.I think I’m going to have to go with the Daily Show, especially for the college crowd.Again, Colbert for college students. SFFTrue Blood is popular, but Supernatural can take it.24 is just too popular for Fringe.Burn Notice, I think - is Smallville still good?Lost. Chuck is popular, but Lost is Lost. COMEDYParks and Recreation, I think.The Office, no question.The Big Bang Theory - more established and pretty popular.30 Rock has been popular and won awards, but this year, Glee has been a rising star and 30 Rock hasn’t been getting as much positive attention.MM: Again, I’ve only seen an episode or two of Parks and Rec (just as with Modern Family last round) and it was amusing, but did not have the clever wit and ridiculous situations of Psych, which, in my opinon, closed the recent season on an absolute roll with a string of episodes that were both funnt and thrilling as well as keeping things interesting with some big character development.Austin Morris: DRAMABreaking Bad over Mad Men. Sorry, I’m one of those people who can’t always sit through and MM episode and stay awake.The Good Wife over NCIS. I love the characters of NCIS, and they have great chemistry, but TGW is doing a great job of maintaining momentum in its major story arc while still delivering solid standalone cases each episode. I think NCIS focuses way too much on delivering standalone episodes until Shane Brennan decides to give a character a major backstory download during sweeps. So, Good Wife for the win.Dexter over House. I think Chad’s criticism of Dexter is only valid because he skipped seasons 2 and 3. Season 4 was a heavy callback to season 1, but it worked for me because of all the changes Dex went through in the seasons between. In a matchup between two series which are basically character studies of their central anti-heroes, Dex’s psyche remains far more fascinating than House’s.Friday Night Lights over Damages. Sorry, Glenn Close, but I occasionally don’t want to see dysfunctional and pure evil on my TV screen. And when I want to watch some of the most complicated and real characters currently on screen go through all the typical challenges of life, I turn to FNL. Connie Britton and Kyle Chandler are amazing, and they win this category for me.REALITY/TALK/VARIETYIdol over Big Brother. Big Brother hasn’t really been relevant for a few seasons now, and the most recent season of Idol brought out the star power with Adam Lambert and Kris Allen, who both turned out solid albums. Idol also has Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood on its resume, and those two divas are tough to beat.Amazing Race over Top Chef. I actually like TC better, but that’s personal preference. And besides, Race actually has a shot at beating Idol in the next round.Daily Show over Letterman. I love Dave, and he still knows how to get his guests to give great interviews, but Jon Stewart has been on a roll. Some thought he would have no firepower after the Obama administration took over the White House, but I think his barbs have become sharper since January 2009. A recent episode in which he impersonated Glenn Beck was on point and brilliant. In these wildly political times, I think The Daily Show isn’t just entertaining--it’s important.Colbert over Survivor, for many of the same reasons as above. Colbert out-crazy-like-a-foxes even the wiliest Survivor castaways.SFFSupernatural for delivering consistently good (and meta!) writing. True Blood is fun and all, but it’s way uneven and, occasionally, unintentionally ridiculous. I’m all for campy television, but I think Alan Ball sometimes paints his series as something more than a campy Southern-fried vampire tale--something it’s not. Supernatural knows exactly what it is and celebrates it, tongue firmly in cheek.Fringe over 24. Mostly because I really can’t stand 24’s politics...or, rather, its refusal to cop to its politics. Fringe is an imperfect but frequently fun combination of scares, gore, and John Noble. Love John Noble.Burn Notice over Smallville. Mostly because I’m stunned that Smallville won the last round. But this round is really irrelevant, cause there’s no way in hell either of these shows will beat Lost in the next round.Lost over Chuck. Love both shows, but Lost is the Show of My Generation.COMEDYI haven’t seen Parks and Rec since the first season, but I have followed Psych for a long time, and I’m a huge fan. Great pop culture references, great character chemistry, and a hilarious concept. A win here would be partial retribution for The Mentalist totally aping this show’s concept. Psych for the win.It’s Always Sunny in Philly over The Office, because I am beyond over Michael Scott. I don’t even have a coherent argument against it anymore--I just have a knee-jerk reaction.Big Bang Theory over Community because I think Community is secretly kind of uneven--I know everybody here loves it, but I am just a bit more hesitant to leap on the bandwagon. In contrast, I find Big Bang to be consistently funny. Jim Parsons is the show’s not-so-secret weapon.30 Rock over Glee. Know that I am a HUGE Gleek, but it didn’t find its footing until halfway through, and even its best episodes still featured one incredibly annoying subplot that I just can’t stomach (hi, fake-pregnant Terri Schuester!) I can’t get over how awesome and absurd 30 Rock’s inside-baseball humor is. Yes, it has been kind of uneven recently, but when Tina Fey & Co. nail it, they NAIL IT.Kyle Kerns: Big Brother is still on? What? If Idol doesn’t take this one I’ll be surprised. Though I gotta say, I thought the addition of Ellen would be great for the show and add a much needed sense of humor, but I don’t think I’ve seen her crack a funny joke yet. Disappointing. I’m also in agreement with the Supernatural fans, simply because TB is all over the place. Supernatural may be ridiculous a lot of the time, but at least it has the feeling of being intentionally so. As far as Smallville goes, that show needed to die about two seasons ago. On that note, it won’t surprise me if it wins, though, because as bad as the writing can get they still manage to have a huge fanbase. I never really hear much at all about Burn Notice. From anyone. Ever. What is that show even about? In comedy, I have to admit I’m a huge Gleek, too. Granted, like others have said the show is uneven, but when it’s on it’s on. The acting is sub-par compared to 30 Rock, but Glee is the only one that’s ever made me actually laugh out loud while watching. I think Glee has potential to improve, while 30 Rock is losing it. Plus, Alec Baldwin creeps me out.MM: I am pretty outraged that HIMYM, the best traditional sitcom on TV, did not make it out of the first round, and thus, I want 30 Rock to roll over Glee. 30 Rock had a rocky start to the season, but I think they’re back on track now and about as strong as ever.CB: Kyle is your Burn Notice joke a SNL reference? I hope so.Interesting that some people take Breaking Bad over Mad Men. That’s one hell of a second round match-up, and in retrospect I wish I didn’t seed them that way because they are certainly the two best dramas on the air. As much as I love BB, Mad Men is still the king, though.Dexter v. House is interesting because they’re both so reliant on 1.) formula and 2.) one character. While I think House has struggled this season for sure, I like its side characters much better than Dexter’s. However, Dexter has changed more than House. I can’t decide.I am also flat-out shocked that so many people are taking Supernatural over True Blood. Not that I don’t love that result, but wow. I thought everyone was on the True Blood train.And isn’t it obvious that the comedy bracket is going to come down to the four NBC comedies? I guess that’s the way it should be. Community v. Parks and Rec as a Region final would be awesome. Awesome.KK: Sorry, haven’t seen SNL in about two years so I’m not sure what you’re talking about. Fill me in!As for the Dexter/House debate, I’ve never been fond of the supporting cast in House aside from Cuddy, and even she isn’t all that interesting. I haven’t seen Dexter, lately, but I’ve been itching to catch up.CB: There was a sketch about a month ago where they played a Jeopardy style game called “What Is Burn Notice?” where people tried to guess what the hell the show was even about. Hilarity ensued. Well, it’s SNL, so mild hilarity.Brian Marks: I don’t get this Mad Men hatred. Is it because it’s currently the top dog among critics? The acting on that show is the best there is on television, no hyperbole. All of the characters are so complex - they aren’t allowed to fall into predictable categories. Don Draper can be charming and the world’s biggest jerk all at the same time. Plus, the show gives me cover to wear my douchey skinny ties.I’ll stick up for True Blood as well. I don’t have any real dislike of Supernatural, I just think True Blood is always interesting and usually on the game. The social liberal in me loves something that’s always looking at some form of civil rights, even if they sometimes cover it up with vampires.---------------------------------------------------------------------RESULTS FOR ROUND TWO -- Winners in bold with percentage of voteDrama Region1. Mad Men -- 57 percent of vote9. Breaking Bad5. NCIS13. The Good Wife -- 57 percent of vote6. Dexter3. House --71 percent of vote10. Friday Night Lights -- 86 percent of vote15. Damages Reality/Talk/Variety Region1. American Idol -- 71 percent of vote9. Big Brother12. Top Chef4. The Amazing Race -- 71 percent of vote6. The Late Show with David Letterman3. The Daily Show -- 86 percent of vote10. The Colbert Report -- 86 percent of vote2. SurvivorComedy Region1. 30 Rock -- 57 percent of vote9. Glee12. Community -- 71 percent of vote4. Big Bang Theory11. It's Always Sunny in Philly -- 57 percent of vote3. The Office10. Parks and Recreation -- 71 percent of vote15. PsychSci-Fi/Fantasy/Action Region1. LOST -- 100 percent of vote8. Chuck12. Smallville4. Burn Notice -- 56 percent of vote6. Fringe -- 71 percent of vote3. 2410. Supernatural -- 71 percent of vote2. True BloodYour thoughts? How about some of those major upsets?!?
(03/24/10 3:00pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning round two of our Film Director bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less “correct”). Then below that are the results!Round three discussion begins today.---------------------------------------------------------------------Cory Barker: We’re into round two of our film directors bracket. Take a look and get debating. This was the most lively discussion in R1, let’s keep it that way.Brad Sanders: I’ll throw out my upsets:Spike Lee over Steven Spielberg. I know, I know. I use pop culture discussions at Weekend to vicariously express my crushing white guilt, but seriously guys: no one matters more to African Americans AND white hoity-toity film school types than Spike Lee. His movies and his documentaries, as well as his constant presence court-side at Madison Square Garden and his long-before-they-were-cool trademark glasses make him a hero, an icon, and one of the most underrated filmmakers of all time. Spielberg, well, he’s Spielberg. He’s the director people can name when asked to name a famous Hollywood director. Nothing about him, especially this decade, screams all-time greatness.Judd Apatow over Paul Greengrass. If someone gets a nod for comedy, it’s gotta be Apatow. Greengrass did some neat stuff with the shaky cam but he directs action flicks, and action flick directors are a dime a dozen. I’m not the world’s biggest Apatow fan, but his movies will continue to put asses in seats for the rest of forever.Jason Reitman over Sam Mendes. I’m not really sure how Mendes is a 3 seed. Reitman has knocked several out of the park this decade and was probably a favorite for Best Director this year until Cameron vs. Bigelow became the prevailing storyline.Andrew Stanton over Ridley Scott. Sort of cheating but let’s say his involvement with every Pixar movie whether it was as director or not makes him more than deserving of this matchup. What does “directing” an animated flick mean, even? I’m sure it’s a very collaborative process, and he collaborated on greatness for the last fifteen years.Peter Jackson over Tim Burton. Burton does what he does and he’s good at that, I guess. But Jackson’s mastered a ton of different styles, and not too long ago, he squeezed a boatload of Oscars out of the Academy for the THIRD MOVIE IN A FANTASY TRILOGY. I think it’s impossible to understate what a feat that is.Ron Howard over James Cameron. Ron Howard is super-consistent. James Cameron barely works, and when he does, half the country hates it. No contest for me.The rest, I’ll take the higher seed.Max McCombs: Lee and Spielberg is the matchup of this round in my opinion. I haven’t decided yet. I completely agree on Jackson, and probably on Howard too.As for Ridley Scott, watch American Gangster, then we’ll talk.Chad Quandt: It’s true Spielberg hasn’t done anything great recently. He started to lose directing traction as far back as 2001 (though I’m a fan of Minority Report and Catch Me If You Can). I want to blame his more recent failures (War of the Worlds, Indy 4) on lack of a good story and not on his own techniques. And everytime I hear Spike Lee I think of the superior Spike Jonze (who somehow lost to Lynch).Brian Welk: The Lee/Spielberg race is interesting. There are even critics who would point to multiple films by either of them as Best of the Decade (Lee: 25th Hour, Passing Strange) (Spielberg: Minority Report, A.I., which appeared on a surprising number of Best of Lists), and each has a good number of masterpieces under their belts, obviously. For whatever reason, I’m still leaning towards Spielberg.I’m kind of with Brad on Reitman over Mendes (although it is closer than you would think), but most definitely not with him on Apatow over Greengrass. Greengrass stands out as an action director in a field of people who have tried emulating his style and failed, missed the point that action films are still about characters and not stunts or Baysplosions, and have not made films as culturally relevant as he has.Good cases made on all the others that have been mentioned. We should definitely meet up and talk. I’m also a bit torn at the match up between Fincher and Aronofsky. Thoughts?John Barnett: Alright, let’s see what we’ve got here.1. Martin Scorsese8. Woody AllenNo contest. Marty blows Woody away.5. Clint Eastwood13. Danny BoyleAgain, no question. Clint moves on.6. Sidney Lumet3. Joel and Ethan CoenThis region is easy. Coens trounce Lumet.7. Spike Lee2. Steven SpielbergAnd Steve blows Spike out of the water.---Newbies-ish Region1. Paul Greengrass8. Judd ApatowGreengrass mostly popularized his certain brand of action filmmaking, which as someone else said is often imitated but rarely if ever duplicated. Apatow, though, ushered in a new age of intelligent, R-rated comedies. Apatow’s style has been more successfully replicated, though. I’ve never been ok with Greengrass being a 1-seed here, but I think he might have a slight edge in this one only because Apatow has worn out his welcome in the eyes of some. My personal pick would be Judd, but I won’t fight to the death for him here.5. Pedro Almodovar4. Guillermo Del ToroThe difficulty here is that Del Toro has really only made two great movies (Pan’s Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone), and Almodovar has made a whole bunch of great movies that very few people that read WEEKEND have ever seen. If we’re going to base this on sheer quality of output, though, Pedro should take this.6. Jason Reitman3. Sam MendesI’ll argue to the death for Mendes to absolutely KILL Reitman here. Reitman’s witty dramedies do not trump American Beauty, Road to Perdition and Revolutionary Road by any stretch of the imagination. I believe Mendes will still be around making great films decades from now, and Reitman will follow in his father’s footsteps (check out his filmography and marvel at the amount of crap on it). Who am I kidding, though? I’ve always had it in for Jason.10. Sofia Coppola2. Alfonso CuaronI’m still sort of reeling over Sofia beating Innaritu in the last round. I’m guessing most of the voters hadn’t seen all his movies. I mean I love Lost in Translation to death, but I don't know. Anyway, Cuaron should win this based on Children of Men alone. Sheer brilliance.---Indie Darlings1. Quentin Tarantino8. Gus Van SantTarantino wins easily.5. David Lynch4. Wes AndersonAs much as I love most everything David Lynch has ever made, I argued for Spike Jonze to beat him in the last round and I will argue for Anderson to beat him here basely solely on timeliness and relevance to “the now.” Royal Tenenbaums is my favorite comedy of all time, and The Life Aquatic is not far behind. I also loved Darjeeling Limited, but it’s admittedly more of a minor-key work. Again, if we’re talking lifetime achievement, Lynch takes this one, but if we’re talking relevance and recent output then Wes wins.6. David Fincher3. Darren AronofskyThis match-up is just ridiculous. I feel somehow that the seeds should be switched, but we’ve got what we’ve got. Regardless of seeding, both of these guys have made multiple outright masterworks, and neither of them have an ounce of compromise in them. My own personal preference leads me to want Fincher to take this. I would not be unhappy with either outcome, and if you put both of their best films (Requiem for a Dream and Fight Club) up against one another I think Fight Club would come out on top. I’ll have to mull this one over a lot more before making my final vote.7. Steven Soderbergh2. Paul Thomas AndersonPTA moves on without breaking a sweat. The only thing Soderbergh has on PTA is that he made a movie with Sasha Grey.---Populist Pros1. James Cameron8. Ron HowardI know Cameron has only made two film in the last 15 years, but they just happen to be the two highest grossing films of all time both in America and worldwide. Not that I’m arguing that box office and popularity with the masses should hold much weight in these pairings, but if even Cameron would lose here I think he’d remain, true to form, the massive elephant in the room for the remainder of this bracket. Ron Howard has mostly made overly sentimental drivel and we all know it. I love Apollo 13 as much as the next guy, but c’mon. Fucking TITANIC and AVATAR. Jim’s movies demand gratuitous capitalization. He wins.5. Peter Jackson4. Tim BurtonThis one will probably spark some argument, but I think Jackson wins hands-down. To my mind, the last great movie Burton made was Ed Wood in 1994. I really enjoy Sweeney Todd and Big Fish, but Jackson made me weep for a giant ape for fuck’s sake. Oh, and he made the LOTR films. No small feat.11. Andrew Stanton3. Ridley ScottStanton wins the consolation prize for being the only animation director to make the second round, but his ride ends here. Of course I have to admit I’m basing my Ridley vote most on his earlier work, as I haven’t seen a film of his since Kingdom of Heaven. I just don’t think a Stanton win here could be in any way justified unless you were 10 years old.10. Sam Raimi2. Christopher NolanNolan is poised to become one of the most important and compulsively watchable directors working today, if he’s not already. Memento, Insomnia, Batman Begins, The Prestige and The Dark Knight is one hell of a resume, and Inception looks mindblowing. I really hope he doesn’t make a Superman movie, though. Raimi, on the other hand has not made a movie I would call great since A Simple Plan, although I liked Drag Me to Hell quite a bit. And yes, I know Spider-Man 1 and 2 were good as far as comic book movies go, but you’re talking to a guy who thinks the best comic book movie of all time is Shyamalan’s Unbreakable.BS: Oops, I missed a region of the bracket. I’m taking Lynch over Anderson for personal reasons (like I love Lynch and absolutely hate Anderson) and Fincher over Aronofsky because Requiem for a Dream is close to the most overrated movie ever.MM: I’m increasingly leaning toward a Howard upset over Cameron. It’s not a quality vs quantity fight here, because they both have quality on the resumes, but Howard has simply turned out a lot more of those quality fils as of recent. Also, you’ll probably never hear a Cameron movie called underrated, where as Cinderella Man is for my money one of the most underrated films of the past decade.CB: Solid thoughts all around.Thank you, Brad for bringing up the racial injustices of the world. Again, I really appreciate it. I tend to like Spielberg films more than Lee’s, but you can’t disagree with the relevance and heft of Spike’s output. I haven’t seen them, but his Katrina docs were supposedly AMAZING, as was 25th Hour. SS has his hands in everything these days, but as a director, I can’t think of anything lately that is “memorable” about his style. I loved Catch Me If You Can, but I’m not sure he had a lot to do with it.Fincher v. Aronofsky is definitely a throwdown of epic proportions. I really love Fincher’s films, especially Fight Club and Zodiac, but was underwhelmed by Panic Room and understand the hate for Button, even if I like it. Has Aronofsky made a bad movie? I still don’t know what the fuck The Fountain is really about, but god if it’s not a beautiful film. AND that’s his “most disappointing.” Interesting that people are clamoring for Howard over Cameron. I agree with Max’s thought about Cinderella Man and find myself enjoying almost all of Howard’s films. But he has no stylistic identity, right? I might dislike parts about Avatar, but you can’t deny that it was all Cameron. You know/?BW: So back to Fincher v. Aronofsky, I’m torn because the only Fincher film I can say I really “love” is Zodiac. Otherwise, I’ve got some cult film bias or something stupid like that. As for Aronofsky, I think the Wrestler is brilliant, even if I am the only critic on Earth who thinks its one of the best of the decade.I’ll agree that Cinderella Man is underrated, and I still adore A Beautiful Mind, but then you have the overrated Frost/Nixon and of course Da Vinci Code AND Angels and Demons. I think Opie Taylor’s run ends here with the King of the World.BS: I wasn’t aware that Frost/Nixon was overrated; I was the only person I talked to who liked it.BW: Oh, then that maybe makes this easier. I guess the Best Picture nomination tipped me off.CQ: As for Cameron, Avatar was about as much a personal project you can have. With that many crews and teams, its arguable that Cameron could’ve been removed from aspects of the production more than say other films nominated for Best Pic. The few Oscars the film got (teams for visual effects, art direction) dealt with people more responsible for Avatar’s famed visuals than James. This is all speculation, but that’s the impression I’ve gotten from Behind The Scenes vids. Howard doesn’t have any really unique style, but Cameron doesn’t either.I love his older films like everyone else but Titantic was on last night. I watched it explicitly to try and observe what Cameron was doing, and nothing seems particularly memorable. It’s mostly your generic swooping shots outside the boat and standard walks through the interior.Brian Marks: On Aronofsky vs. Fincher, I side with Aronofsky. I think Zodiac was intriguing and pleasantly dark, but the only other film of his that I’ve liked was Se7en. Benjamin Button wasn’t horrible, but it was still a misstep. With Aronofsky, I haven’t seen Pi, but I thought Requiem and The Wrestler were great. The Fountain was mostly fluff, but it was great looking fluff. I’d actually agree with Brian that The Wrestler is one of the best films of the decade. The blue collar aspects of that film really suit the times, and Mickey Rourke’s performance is incredible. His family problems are very poignant, and his meat-loaf face can convey so much pain.I go with Spielberg over Lee. For all of Spielberg’s not-so-good movies this decade (War of the Worlds, The Terminal) he made some really great films. I think Munich is one of his top 5 maybe. I’m kinda surprised people haven’t really mentioned it, maybe they didn’t see it since it was marketed more as an art film. It’s the most serious thing he’s done since Schindler’s List, but this time there isn’t any debate about capitalizing on the Holocaust. The film also has a great ensemble cast. There’s also Minority Report, a rare film in which Tom Cruise doesn’t seem like a douchebag. I’d say it’s one of the best science fiction films of the past decade or two. And then there’s A.I., the step-child no one wants. The movie didn’t get great reviews when it came out, but I really enjoyed it. Spielberg was good friends with Stanley Kubrick all his life, and I think that’s what made him so successful at copying the dark, sterile tone. I don’t fault him for making it so unemotional - that’s the whole point. Even though he had some bad films this decade, I think the best ones showed him really maturing into some kind of late period.CQ: I gotta go Aronfsky all the way. Big fan of even The Fountain. Brian says it right. If you hate the movie’s story, every shot is gorgeous. I remember thinking, “if I did drugs, I’d want to do them to this movie”. That’s ironic considering Requiem. So many stills from The Fountain ended up being my computer’s desktop. But his other movies are tight and well done. Requiem is alongside Trainspotting for the best drug movies and The Wrestler is one of the few times I genuinely enjoyed an ambiguous ending. His biggest flaw is probably going a little too “artsy”, but I look forward to his releases more than most.MM: The wrestler is a long-tenured member of the “movies Max really needs to get around to seeing” club, but Fight Club is my favorite movie, period. I’m going to have a hard time going against Fincher regardless of the arguments for Aronofsky.---------------------------------------------------------------------RESULTS FOR ROUND TWO -- Winners in Bold with percentage of voteVeterans Region1. Martin Scoresese -- 89 percent of vote8. Woody Allen5. Clint Eastwood -- 67 percent of vote13. Danny Boyle6. Sidney Lumet3. Coen Brothers -- 100 percent of vote7. Spike Lee2. Steven Spielberg -- 67 percent of voteNewbies(ish) Region1. Paul Greengrass 8. Judd Apatow -- 56 percent of vote5. Pedro Almodovar4. Guillermo Del Toro -- 56 percent of vote6. Jason Reitman3. Sam Mendes -- 56 percent of vote10. Sofia Coppola2. Alfonso Cuaron -- 89 percent of voteIndie Darlings Region1. Quentin Tarantino -- 100 percent of vote8. Gus Van Sant5. David Lynch4. Wes Anderson -- 56 percent of vote6. David Fincher3. Darren Aronofsky -- 67 percent of vote7. Steven Soderbergh2. Paul Thomas Anderson -- 89 percent of votePopulist Pros Region1. James Cameron -- 56 percent of vote8. Ron Howard5. Peter Jackson -- 89 percent of vote4. Tim Burton11. Andrew Stanton3. Ridley Scott -- 56 percent of vote10. Sam Rami2. Christopher Nolan -- 89 percent of voteAny surprises? Did anyone get the shaft? Sound off below.
(03/20/10 10:25pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning our Artist of the Moment bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less "correct"). Then below that are the results!Round two discussion begins today.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cory Barker: Hopefully you've looked at the bracket and are ready to discuss some music match-ups. So let's hear some discussion: who has some upsets in the first round?Brad Sanders: Quick point of clarification: is this about the BEST or the most relevant right now? If it's the latter, I will prepare a very sad paragraph about how Ke$ha is more relevant than Britney.Steven Arroyo: That does make a big difference, I agree. Either way, my definite upset picks right now are the xx and Mariah Carey.CB: Well, I think maybe relevant/quality combo. I mean Ke$ha is "relevant," but not the best, so she wouldn't hypothetically survive past Gaga, who is relevant and good. Make sense?BS: That's fair. In that case, Ke$ha definitely survives against Britney. This isn't 2001.Kasey DeVore: Ke$ha's only released 2 singles (I'm not counting her on "Right Round" since I didn't realize that was her until after Tik Tok came out). Don't count out Britney -- "3" did remarkably well just last fall and her tour last summer was huge.That's just me though, I'm always a Britney supporter. CB: As the person who made this bracket, I'll note that Britney was a last minute addition. I feel like Ke$ha is more relevant and at this point (gulp) better. Other match-ups to think about:Luda v. Kid CudiYeah Yeah Yeahs v. MuseSpoon v. Passion PitBS: I don't listen to any of those, but I think I should drop in a couple of comments on the metal sub-section of the miscellaneous bracket since I appear to be the only metalhead on this mailing list:Mastodon over Cobalt is a no-brainer. Cobalt has one very good album and one undisputed masterpiece, but no one really heard them. Mastodon has been doing it since '02 and keeps getting bigger and arguably better, depending on your taste.BTBAM over Converge in a close one. Converge will always be media darlings who can't back that up with music. BTBAM, on the other hand, continue to raise the bar and push the boundaries of what you can do with a metal album.SA: I think those are the 3 toughest.Luda=slightly more talented, Cudi=slightly more relevant. I'll go with Kid Cudi because "How Low" is unbearable.Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Muse are both equally good though not great, however YYYs are murdering them relevancy-wise with Where the Wild Things Are and the Grammy noms.Spoon and Passion Pit I kinda dig but I definitely also find them equally overrated...Passion Pit by a nose.CB: Luda more talented than Cudi? WHAT? I like Luda minus "How Low," but Cudi's album is one of the best hip-hop records I've heard in years. Also, I've just recently gotten into xx and DAMN. Their debut album is ridiculously good. So so so good. SA: Again, slightly more talented. Just thinking fundamentals here, that's really all I can speak about when it comes to hip-hop. I think "Man on the Moon" sounds great (mostly) but it's hardly even a rap record with all the filler and half-ass singing. But we agree he wins at least.And HELL YES to the xx.CB: Hmmm...I don't know of any filler on Man on the Moon. Perhaps it's the singing and extraneous stuff that makes it interesting to me? For me, I appreciate artists who are willing to do something different instead of the dance club-oriented club-baiting single culture hip-hop as become. SA: Yeah, he took chances and that's definitely the right start. I like that he challenged himself with a concept album on his debut. Personally though, I can count on one hand how many songs on that album worked the way he wanted. My faves are "Pursuit of Happiness" and "Day n Nite" but at least half the album seems only like lesser versions of those to me.Adam Lukach: Aw c'mon Steven. Luda hasn't done anything relevant or really even good for a long time. He's become kind of a caricature of himself; it seems like all of his lyrics are just one uber-ridiculous analogy after another. His cred is all but gone for me because it seems like he kind of epitomizes the commercialization of hip hop from what it was. That's just my opinion, but Cudi is at least doing interesting things. "Man On The Moon" is the kind of album that some rappers spend their whole careers trying to make, in terms of the personal testimony and diversity of sound. I think he pulls of the concept album rather well, even comparing it favorably with something like "College Dropout." Also Cudi has 2 mixtapes on which he raps as much as he half-sings; he's got a solid flow. For me it's Cudi 100 percent.SA: Ha okay all good points...but I picked Cudi from the start!! Just trying to consider both sides here.Anyway, I've moved on to pondering another potential upset, LCD v Beach House. James Murphy has been damn busy lately with a new LCD album and that soundtrack to the new Ben Stiller flick. But Beach House just broke out hard and I think their music is better, as much as I enjoy LCD.AL: Haha sorry I didn't mean to go off on you Steven... I just really like Cudi and really don't like Luda. I do agree on Brad's point too; I think that makes for a better contest. Policing yourself is a solid idea I think.And to elaborate on Steven's point about BH v. LCD, I'm all in on LCD for being the better band but BH has broken out big time recently... And the passing of LCD's drummer recently certainly doesn't help their case.SA: Interesting, I had totally forgot about that guy...that matchup's almost a split decision for me right now.Two more upsets I'm leaning towards now, Dirty Projectors and Mos Def.CB: Dirty Projectors over Vampire Weekend? Scoff. I've tried so hard to like DP's album and it juts bores the shit out of me. What am I missing?I'm on-board for Mos Def over Slim Shady.jj over Grizzly? I say yes. SA: I could rant this for hours but I just do not like Contra very much at all. It's another battle of the overrated to me but my vote is with Dirty Projectors. They may be boring, but I can at least hear the nitpicking and attention to detail in Bitte Orca whereas Contra sounds to me like it was thrown together in a week. Amongst many other crimes.I was totally gonna pick jj too but I don't think they've done enough to prove themselves, even over Grizzly Bear. But you might convince me if you have a better reason than mine.CB: That's a fair assessment of jj. I actually love Contra, and didn't care for the debut until I went back earlier this year. Any time the sun is out, it's the first album I go to. I don't what that really means, but it counts for something I think.SA: I get it, I can admit I actually play them more often than a lot of other bands that I know deserve more credit.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RESULTS FOR ROUND ONE -- Winners in bold with percentage of vote.Hip-Hop Region1. Jay-Z -- 100 percent of vote16. Rick Ross8. Ludacris9. Kid Cudi -- 80 percent of vote5. 50 Cent12. Clipse -- 60 percent of vote4. Eminem13. Mos Def -- 60 percent of vote6. Young Jeezy11. Ghostface Killah -- 60 percent of vote3. Lil Wayne -- 100 percent of vote14. Snoop Dogg7. Lupe Fiasco -- 80 percent of vote10. Drake2. Kanye West -- 100 percent of vote15. Gucci ManePitchfork Region
1. Radiohead -- 100 percent of vote
16. Hot Chip
8. Spoon
9. Passion Pit -- 80 percent of vote
5. Phoenix
12. The xx -- 60 percent of vote
4. Animal Collective -- 100 percent of vote
13. Atlas Sound
6. Vampire Weekend -- 60 percent of vote
11. Dirty Projectors
3. LCD Soundsystem -- 80 percent of vote
14. Beach House
7. Grizzly Bear -- 80 percent of vote
10. jj
2. The Flaming Lips -- 100 percent of vote
15. Girls
Pop Region
1. Lady Gaga -- 100 percent of vote
16. Boys Like Girls
8. Kelly Clarkson -- 100 percent of vote
9. Justin Bieber
5. Black Eyed Peas -- 60 percent of vote
12. Mariah Carey
4. Taylor Swift -- 80 percent of vote
13. Akon
6. Justin Timberlake -- 100 percent of vote
11. Jason Derulo
3. Rihanna -- 80 percent of vote
14. Adam Lambert
7. Britney Spears
10. Ke$ha -- 60 percent of vote
2. Beyonce -- 100 percent of vote
15. 3OH!3Miscellaneous RegionMetal Sub-Region1. Mastodon -- 100 percent of vote 16. Cobalt 8. Between the Buried and Me -- 100 percent of vote 9. Converge Alternative Sub-Region 5. Brand New 12. Thrice -- 60 percent of vote 4. Manchester Orchestra -- 100 percent of vote 13. Say Anything R&B Sub-Region 6. Mary J. Blige -- 80 percent of the vote 11. Trey Songz 3. Alicia Keys -- 80 percent of vote 14. Robin Thicke Miscellaneous Miscellaneous Sub-Region 7. Yeah Yeah Yeahs 10. Muse -- 60 percent of vote 2. John Mayer -- 60 percent of vote 15. Metric A slew of upsets here, what do you think?
(03/20/10 7:15pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning our Television bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less "correct"). Then below that are the results!Round two discussion begins today.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cory Barker: Hopefully you've looked at the bracket and are ready to discuss some TV match-ups. So let's hear some discussion: who has some upsets in the first round? Remember: reply to all so we can all see your thoughts.I'm pulling for Community in the comedy bracket. Anyone think it shouldn't take down Two and a Half Men?Max McCombs: I'll agree. I've only seen about 2 episodes of Community, and they were fairly enjoyable. Two and a Half Men stopped being funny when the kid hit puberty.I think I could make an argument for Psych over Modern Family.CB: Ooooooooooh, I'd love that. I think Psych is criminally underrated. Criminally.MM: I wholeheartedly agree. I know Modern Family is a critical darling, but the one episode I watched was thoroughly unmemorable and unfunny.CB: Listen, I love Modern Family, but it IS NOT as funny as people think it is. It's cute and generally amusing, but I dunno. I feel like Community gets a lot of credit for people one pop culture reference after another, but no one ever talks about Psych that way -- when they should. Austin Morris: Max, you must have caught one of the two or three mediocre-to-bad episodes of Modern Family, because outside of those it has been fantastic. However, I think that Psych has a consistent track record of being hilarious over multiple seasons, so I'd be disappointed but okay with a Psych upset.CB: Other TV match-ups to think about:Dexter v. Big Love: I don't watch the latter, but have heard nothing but good things. And I think the former is a little stale despite a mini-resurgence in S4. SNL v. Top Chef: Two NBCU products that have maybe seen the better days. But which one is still good enough to advance?Vampire Diaries v. Smallville: Smallville is uneven as shit, but it's still fun. I feel similarly about VD -- thoughts?AM: Top Chef blows SNL out of the water. Even its worst seasons have been more consistently entertaining than the past few seasons of SNL.And I actually don't find Vampire Diaries uneven--it's a major guilty pleasure. I vote for it.Can I put forth my bid for a Good Wife upset of CSI? Julianna Margulies deserved her Globe and Emmy. Sure, CSI was good in its early seasons, but has anyone cared since the Miniature Killer storyline, or even before?And PLEASE GOD Friday Night Lights over Desperate Housewives.CB: Fair enough on the first two counts. As for Good Wife, agreed. It's a really solid show that people are warming up to as the season goes along, which is kind of rare these days. FNL >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>DH.Brian Marks: I'll go ahead and toot Big Love's horn. I think there are few dramas right now that have characters that are as fleshed out and complicated as on Big Love. The idea of polygamy is completely foreign to most people (certainly me), but instead of turning it into a circus or some kind of comedic relief, the characters all seem like real people. And although the show doesn't bash you over the head with social critique, they have a lot of great political and social observations. Plus, four consistently strong seasons is a bit of a rarity in dramas.I would disagree with the SNL sucks folks. I've only watched Top Chef two or three times, to be fair, but I'm pretty sure the basic format remains the same. I don't think that a cooking show/reality show, no matter how exciting, can be better than SNL. That last few years of SNL were pretty weak, but they've settled on a strong cast now. The show is also incredibly influential when it comes to politics; for anyone who watches political news shows, it's rare for them not to show clips from SNL's opening skit. Politicians even (stupidly) use those skits to back up their positions. Besides that, the show is just plain funny.Also, I think Parks and Rec is way underrated, and better than Entourage. It's not just a copy of the Office anymore and Aziz Ansari is hilarious. Watching a pack of douchebags lost its appeal a long time ago.CB: Parks and Rec is the best comedy on TV right now. Period. Anyone willing to argue Gossip Girl over Mad Men?Kaleb Havens: Both The Office and 30 Rock have more compelling main characters with tighter group dynamics and much more subtle humor than Parks and Rec. The show has potential, as evidenced by some of the more original gags and character moves, but to say it's the best comedy on TV right now is smothering it with unwarranted praise.I watched the pilot and see very little worth in Gossip Girl. Even its supporters admit the show doesn't reach far past cliche. Mad Men, for all its faults, is a show of immense psychological depth. Even when this makes the episodes a little slow and unwieldy, it means the characters are rich and their interactions are realistic. That being said, I have Breaking Bad taking down Mad Men all the way (in round two), no question. If you haven't caught up with Breaking Bad, you're missing a brave new direction of American Television.BM: Mad Men is the best.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------RESULTS FOR ROUND ONE -- Winners in bold with percentage of voteDrama Region1. Mad Men -- 100 percent of vote16. Gossip Girl8. The Mentalist9. Breaking Bad -- 83 percent of vote5. NCIS -- 83 percent of vote12. In Treatment4. CSI13. The Good Wife -- 83 percent of vote6. Dexter -- 67 percent of vote11. Big Love3. House -- 67 percent of vote14. Sons of Anarchy7. Desperate Housewives10. Friday Night Lights -- 67 percent of vote2. Grey's Anatomy15. Damages -- 83 percent of voteReality/Talk/Variety Region1. American Idol -- 83 percent of vote16. Late Night with Jimmy Fallon8. The Biggest Loser9. Big Brother -- 67 percent of vote5. Saturday Night Live12. Top Chef -- 67 percent of vote4. The Amazing Race -- 67 percent of vote13.Project Runway6. Late Show with David Letterman -- 83 percent of vote11. Extreme Makeover: Home Edition3. The Daily Show -- 83 percent of vote14. Hell's Kitchen7. The Bachelor10. The Colbert Report -- 100 percent of vote2. Survivor -- 57 percent of vote15. Next Top ModelComedy Region1. 30 Rock -- 100 percent of vote16. Hung8. How I Met Your Mother9. Glee -- 57 percent of vote5. Two and a Half Men12. Community -- 67 percent of vote4. Big Bang Theory -- 83 percent of vote13. Party Down6. Curb Your Enthuasiam11. It's Always Sunny in Philly -- 67 percent of vote3. The Office -- 100 percent of vote14. Weeds7. Entourage10. Parks and Recreation -- 83 percent of vote2. Modern Family15. Psych -- 67 percent of voteSci-Fi/Fantasy/Action Region1. LOST -- 100 percent of vote16. Warehouse 138. Chuck -- 67 percent of vote9. Dollhouse5. The Vampire Diaries12. Smallville -- 83 percent of vote4. Burn Notice -- 83 percent of vote13. Caprica6. Fringe -- 83 percent of vote11. FlashForward3. 24 -- 67 percent of vote14. Spartacus: Blood and Sand7. Heroes10. Supernatural -- 57 percent of vote2. True Blood -- 67 percent of vote15. V
(03/20/10 4:49pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Below is the discussion that took place via e-mail between WEEKEND staffers over the past few days concerning our Film Director bracket (note: grammar/style is conversational, and less "correct"). Then below that are the results! Round two discussion begins today.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cory Barker: Hopefully you've looked at the bracket and are ready to discuss some Director match-ups. So let's hear some discussion: who has some upsets in the first round? Remember: reply to all so we can all see your thoughts.Doug Evans: I gave Mike Nichols the upset over Clint Eastwood because Nichols concern for thoroughness outweighs Eastwood's drive for productivity. Sure, Eastwood churns a movie out every year if not 2, but his films rarely surprise. Nichols made the Graduate, one of the best movies ever made, that challenged the moral fabric of the 60s. It was so taboo when it came out my grandma wouldn't let my 16 year old mom see it, and there was not even a single shot with nudity. He has directed films dealing with topics as sensitive as cancer in Wit and brain damage in Regarding Henry, and then shocked audiences all over again with Closer, which gave me more nightmares than any horror film ever has. Nichols gets the upset.If not for Oliver Stone's recent flubs (World Trade Center, Alexander), he would have easily upset Sydney Lumet. His Wall Street sequel will either make or break him at this point in his career.Robert Rodriguez scores an early upset over Ridley Scott due to his ever-progressive style, willingness to collaborate with other filmmakers and attack unfamiliar material, and the fact that he writes most of his own scores. He is the complete package and he is the epitome of a self-made director (he funded his first film with $7000 he raised by spending a month as a research subject in a medical facility). Not to downplay the creator of Alien, Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise, but personally, American Gangster and most of his collaborations with Russell Crowe did not do it for me.Finally, the most monumental upset of them all (I know I'll get shit for this but I don't give a shit): Guy Ritchie over Avatar Cameron. Don't get me wrong, Terminator 1 and 2 are two of my favorite films of all time, but until this past year the guy hasn't done jack shit in the last 12 years. And don't tell me he was hard at work on Avatar for 12 years. He was sitting around in his house jacking off to his Titanic Oscar. Cameron has become all about style over substance, and even though Guy Ritchie made one of the worst pieces of shit ever (Swept Away), he still beats Cameron in overtime thanks to his early hits Snatch and Lock Stock and his recent resurgence with RocknRolla and Sherlock Holmes.CB: Whoa, Rodriguez over Scott? I don't doubt RR's "total package" talent, but has he made a really good movie yet? I really liked Planet Terror, but it's uneven; Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a mess, Spy Kids series is what it is -- and then Shorts. Meh. I don't love Avatar, but Guy Ritchie? REALLY?Perhaps some of the most interesting match-ups:Reitman v. BaumbachPolanski v. Boyle -- Has RP done enough lately?Jackson v. Bigs -- Is Peter Jackson really that good of a director? Brad Sanders: Jackson really is that good of a director, I think. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is obviously his shining moment, but his low-budget schlocky horror films from the 90s were great, King Kong made a CGI main character not only watchable but sympathetic, and revolutionized that look before Avatar ever came around, and his stab at good old-fashioned classy film-making last year didn't do as well as expected but was still pretty damn good. Also, I'm gonna throw a couple of upsets out there:Gilliam over Van Sant. Terry Gilliam is one of the greatest directors of all time and even though he hasn't exactly proved it lately (The Brothers Grimm was a misstep) it's unfair to make him a 9 seed, let alone to knock him out of the first round. This is the guy who gave us the Monty Python flicks, Brazil, 12 Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and others...no way he loses to Van Sant.Also, Ang Lee over Wes Anderson. Wes Anderson has never made a good movie. He's just made pretentious movies. Hulk was terrible, but Crouching Tiger and Brokeback Mountain are better than any of the white bread hipster crap that Anderson has ever made. Lots of bias there, but I just don't think Wes Anderson is a good director, at all. Maybe someone who agrees can articulate it better.DE: You clearly haven't seen El Mariachi. Sorry Cory, you're wrong :(CB: I actually own it. It's fine, but that was years ago. One good movie a career does not make. Yeah I mean I wanted to love Once Upon a Time, but it's a mess. Desperado is a fun movie and El Mariachi is great for its budget, but I feel like he's more style than substance. Which brings me to M Night, who I think is a total fraud. Thoughts?BS: Total hack. Does anyone even like The Sixth Sense as much as its reputation would make it seem? That's the only one worth commenting on and it's not great, and the rest of his movies are almost uniformly bad. Not to mention his name has become synonymous with "eye-roll worthy plot twist". I love Avatar (The Last Airbender, not the one with blue Native Americans), but I'm nervous that he's going to ruin even that. Speaking of ruining things, Zack Snyder makes it out of the first round and I quit. Brian Marks: I would agree with Gilliam surpassing Van Sant, as much as I like Van Sant.Completely disagree with Ang Lee over Wes Anderson. Ang Lee had some great movies (Ice Storm, Crouching Tiger, Brokeback Mountain) but I think his last two movies kinda fizzled out. Lust, Caution was marketed just for its NC-17 rating, and Taking Woodstock was the biggest mistake he's ever made. A Woodstock movie where the music isn't a big element of the story? Demetri Martin needs to stick with drawing- and music-based humor. Wes Anderson, however, has been nothing if not consistent. Rushmore and Royal Tenenbaums are modern classics, and even the movies that didn't sell as well (Life Aquatic, Darjeeling Limited) showed an evolution. He made it acceptable to make smart comedies again. And I think it's unfair to label him as a hipster, then dismiss him. He started most of the hipster shit that people love, and that's really on the periphery of his films anyway. I hate to sound too passionate about his films, but I think he gets a bum rap - people see or skip his films because of him, not the actual films. That's a shame. I'll step off my soapbox now.BS: I've seen all his movies except Fantastic Mr. Fox, but I just don't like him. Oh well, Ang Lee. Maybe you shouldn't have ruined Hulk. Then people would like you more.Brian Welk: I've got a lot to respond to. I'm going to try and address most of the things that have come up.From the beginning: Clint over Nichols. Nichols is a legend, but so is Clint, and he's owned this last decade. Nichols had Charlie Wilson's War.Lumet over Stone.Scott over Rodriguez for sure. I very much like everything Scott's done this decade including American Gangster and especially Black Hawk Down. Rodriguez has made too much shit and mediocrity for me to consider him.Cameron over Ritchie. I have to revisit LSTB and Snatch, but Holmes sucked, and I'm not in the mood to argue why. And Avatar didn't.Jackson over Bigelow. I haven't seen enough (or any) of Bigelow's movies besides "Hurt Locker," and aside from LOTR, I really did love at least two hours of King Kong despite how bad Lovely Bones is.Gilliam over Van Sant. Close one, but Brazil and Twelve Monkeys?Ang Lee over Wes Anderson. Okay, now I by no means dislike Wes Anderson. I enjoy his movies well enough, but I will say there's something I find unauthentic about a handful of them. I definitely don't see them as the masterpieces some people have described them as. Crouching Tiger is fantastic, and Brokeback is good too (I gotta watch it again, see if it I like it a little more), and I didn't even hate Taking Woodstock, despite the flaws people have mentioned.Burton over M Night. Okay, we can debate whether M Night is a good director until the cows come home (although I feel it wouldn't take that long to agree he sucks), but are we really considering giving him anything over Tim Burton? Edward Scissorhands and Sweeny Todd are masterpieces, and despite the failure of Alice in Wonderland, a lot of his others are great too.Also, I think the ones that may cause some discussion are:Miyazaki over Soderbergh. This was a really tough pick. Almost no one has the resume of quantity over the last 10 years as Soderbergh does, and many of those films are of equal quality, but I adore Miyazaki. Ponyo is maybe my least favorite film of his, but it still is excellent. Aside from that, I can't hear from anyone who's willing to defend Ocean's 12 or 13.Jonze over Lynch. Again, maybe the bias is showing here, but each of Jonze's three films are masterpieces (obviously people may dispute WTWTA), and frankly, I disagree that Mulholland Dr. and even Blue Velvet are the masterpieces they have attained the reputation of. They are visually remarkable films, but overly odd, complex and disturbing for their own good.Forster over Apatow. Another close one. Wasn't a fan of Quantum of Solace, and I can't say I'm the hugest Forster fan, but Monster's Ball is something special, and I would say Finding Neverland, Kite Runner and Stranger than Fiction are all equally unique films. As for Apatow, Funny People was somewhat of a disappointment, and for how much I like and will watch Knocked Up and 40-Year Old Virgin, I don't think I would ever put them on some kind of list as great films.BS: I can get behind a lot of that, but there's no way Lynch gets knocked out of the first round. None of his movies are particularly re-watchable but he is one of the most important writers/directors of all time, from his short films to Eraserhead to The Elephant Man to Twin Peaks to Mulholland Dr. He consistently challenges the viewer. I like Jonze too and I don't like that they're stuck in a first-round match up together, but if they have to be, then Lynch is more than deserving of the title. If you ask people to name a surreal, bizarre director, he's the name they come up with. That's worth something.And I think Apatow might have to beat Forster simply because the last half of the decade from a comedy standpoint BELONGED to him. Could we even name Seth Rogen or Paul Rudd without him?Kate Colvin: Has anyone debated Boyle vs. Polanski yet? I think Boyle deserves it, although I'm going to go ahead and acknowledge a bit of a bias because I think that Rosemary's Baby is among the most overrated horror films of all time. The Pianist was beautiful, certainly, but I don't feel like it's enough to outweigh 28 Days Later, Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, all of which were brilliant. Even Shallow Grave and Sunshine, lesser films overall, were more entertaining than the infamous Baby.Burton definitely deserves it over M. Night Shyamalan. It's just unfortunate that M. Night's best film, The Sixth Sense, is probably his most well-known, while one of Burton's best, Ed Wood, is his least well-known. He may have made some missteps, but his track record easily outdoes Shyamalan's.I tend to agree about Ang Lee over Wes Anderson, but I've only seen a few Anderson films, so I'm not really going to try to argue it.And yeah - if Zack Snyder beats Sam Mendes, I'm going to go cry in a corner.DE: I wonder, Cory, if your seedings were randomized. It is becoming clear that since we are not certain whether to base our picks on number of recent successes (or even how far back to venture), quintessential films, or a director's full body of work, this is more of an opinionated argument. So...I completely agree with Brad. There is no director in film history like David Lynch. If he loses to Spike Jonze, who despite directing Being John Malkovich - one of the most creative movies ever - puts Wes Anderson's hipsterism to shame, there is no God.Anderson or Lee, take your pick, but Woodstock was the biggest sham of last year.B Welk, I'll acquiesce to your Eastwood pick even though he has directed as much crap (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil; Space Cowboys; and Invictus, which was a glorified piece of shit) as he has gems (Million Dollar Baby; A Perfect World; Unforgiven), even though The Graduate knocks any one of those on its ass (see it). But I highly doubt you missed opening weekend of Sin City. And if you haven't seen El Mariachi or From Dusk til Dawn, you should see them before you trash Rodriguez. In terms of the great war movies, Black Hawk Down is mediocre at best, and in terms of the great gangster films, American Gangster won't be found on any credible reviewer's top gangster films of all time list.But I did find both of Guy Ritchie's great films (Lock Stock; Snatch) on several of these same lists. More proof that he should be considered for a big upset over the director of Overated-tar (what kind of bracket system in which we have full control would not allow for one big upset; that's lame and unexciting for the reader :)Perhaps Katie, you have not seen Chinatown, Death and the Maiden, or Oliver Twist, which are all Polanski masterpieces. I'm down with Danny Boyle in a major way, but this is a sensitive pick. You'll have to do better than deride Rosemary's Baby to get my vote here.CB: BWelk, JB and I tried to hash out the list and seedings. The seedings aren't quite randomized, meaning there is some intention there, but I didn't fret over them THAT much. We're trying to consider who is the best active director right now, so obviously the more recent films -- last 5ish years -- are the most important, with the whole body of work being much less important. That's why I bring up Polanski v. Boyle, just because the former hasn't done that much recently, even if people do like Ghost Writer. Does that clear up the general intention for you?DE: Good explanation, thanks Cory. It makes a lot of sense, but it does put some directors who haven't been productive lately at a disadvantage. You'd think that would bode poorly for someone like James Cameron. I'm still pulling for that upset.Max McCombs: Some thoughts: Cory read my mind on The Village and The Happening. Never has a movie left me as pissed off as the Village, and the Happening was laughably bad. As for Wes Anderson vs Ang Lee, I haven't seen enough of either of their movies to really speak knoledgebly here, but I did find The Royal Tenenbaums to be pretty overrated. I happened to watch Fantastic Mr. Fox last night, and found it to be utterly delightful, though, but I'm not sire if that's enough to overcome the masterpiece that is Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Also, I'd agree with the style-over-substance argument on Rodriguez and take Scott in that one. American Gangster was terrific. Jackson is a no-brainer, I think. LOTR was so huge in scale that he gets major props just for stepping up to the plate there, and I could not have imagined them done any better. I'd agree with Miyazaki over Soderburgh. If Spirited Away doesn't give you the warm fuzzies, you likely have no soul. BW: If we are talking last five years (or even ten years in my book), that both changes things and doesn't change things.First off given what I just said. Eastwood over Nichols. NO FUCKING CONTEST. Doug, I think you're also forgetting Mystic River, Letters From Iwo Jima and the in some ways underrated Flags of Our Fathers, Changeling and Gran Torino.Next, I would still say Lumet over Stone. Have you seen Before the Devil Knows You're Dead?Again, Scott over Rodreiguez. Taking the decade into context again, Sin City is overrated, and Spy Kids? Grindhouse? I don't even think Gladiator is one of the best of the decade as many of you all do, so I don't see why this is an issue.Stanton over Zemeckis. At this point, we can maybe compare the two as animators, and the guy from Pixar would certainly take it. Maybe Soderbergh over Miyazaki. I'll concede that Spirited Away is as old as '02, whereas Soderbergh has at least had The Informant and an interesting indie-film called The Girlfriend Experience.Van Sant over Gilliam. I would never say this in terms of anything other than the decade, and I'm almost still having trouble saying it. Milk is great though, and I can't say I've seen Brothers Grimm or Imaginarium as of late.Jonze over Lynch. So I have to revisit Mulholland Dr., but I don't know if I want to because it fucked my shit up! Jonze may have fucked my shit up too but in a good way, not in a way that made me uncomfortable to watch a lesbian sex scene. This is definitely heating up, and I'm interested to see how our bracket looks when we get to like the Elite Eight or something.BS: Yeah, Lynch vs. Jonze is officially this bracket's "Are you kidding me? They play in the FIRST ROUND? I'd put both in the Elite 8" match-up. Just re-watched Mulholland Dr. last night and I'm prepared to give it to Lynch, but Jonze is 3-for-3 and probably a little more relevant in 2010. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------RESULTS FOR ROUND ONE -- Winners in Bold with percentage of voteVeterans Region1. Martin Scoresese -- 100 percent of vote16. Edward Zwick8. Woody Allen -- 83 percent of vote9. Terrance Malik5. Clint Eastwood -- 83 percent of vote12. Mike Nichols4. Roman Polanski 13. Danny Boyle -- 57 percent of vote6. Sidney Lumet -- 67 percent of vote11. Oliver Stone3. The Coen Brothers -- 100 percent of vote14. David Cronenberg7. Spike Lee -- 83 percent of vote10. Michael Mann2. Steven Spielberg -- 100 percent of vote15. George RomeroNewbies(ish) Region1. Paul Greengrass -- 100 percent of vote16. Jon Favreau8. Judd Apatow -- 83 percent of vote9. Marc Forster5. Pedro Almodovar -- 83 percent of vote12. Edgar Wright4. Guillermo Del Toro -- 67 percent of vote13. Marc Webb6. Jason Reitman -- 67 percent of vote11. Noah Baumbach3. Sam Mendes -- 100 percent of vote14. Zach Snyder7. Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu10. Sofia Coppola -- 57 percent of vote2. Alfonso Cuaron -- 100 percent of vote15. JJ AbramsIndie Darlings Region1. Quentin Tarantino -- 100 percent of vote16. Michael Moore8. Gus Van Sant -- 71 percent of vote9. Terry Gilliam5. David Lynch -- 57 percent of vote12. Spike Jonze 4. Wes Anderson -- 57 percent of vote13. Ang Lee6. David Fincher -- 83 percent of vote11. Michel Gondry3. Darren Aronofsky -- 100 percent of vote14. Alexander Payne7. Steven Soderbergh -- 100 percent of vote10. Hayao Miyazaki2. Paul Thomas Anderson -- 100 percent of vote15. Richard LinklaterPopulist Pros Region1. James Cameron -- 83 percent of vote16. Guy Ritchie8. Ron Howard -- 83 percent of vote9. Mel Gibson5. Peter Jackson -- 83 percent of vote12. Kathryn Bigelow4. Tim Burton -- 83 percent of vote13. M. Night Shyamalan6. Robert Zemickis11. Andrew Stanton -- 83 percent of vote3. Ridley Scott -- 83 percent of vote14. Robert Rodriquez7. Frank Darabont10. Sam Rami -- 83 percent of vote2. Christopher Nolan -- 100 percent of vote15. Martin CampbellDid anyone get a raw deal? Not enough upsets? Sound off below!
(03/18/10 6:31pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Melodic hardcore is an odd genre of music that tries to combine pop-punk and hardcore punk -- obviously -- but rarely do bands bring enough goods from those two styles to create a solid sound. Thankfully, Four Year Strong is one that does. Their latest, "Enemy of the World" is at times both poppier and more aggressive than their stellar debut, "Rise or Die Trying." And perhaps the best news is that unlike the debut, the tracks on "Enemy" do not blend into one another after a few listens, instead each operates individually as a solid pop-punk gem.Opener "It Must Really Suck to Be Four Year Strong Right Now" and "What The Hell Is A Gigawatt?" are perfect for the fit, full of breakdowns and aggressiveness. Meanwhile, "On A Saturday" is powered by the synthesizer and "Wasting Time (Eternal Summer)" features infectious hooks and solid gang vocals. The closing title track throws all those different elements together to create one hell of a finish, capping off what will probably be the best pop-punk effort of 2010.
(03/15/10 3:25pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>With March Madness upon us, WEEKEND has gone a little bracket crazy. Over the next month, our staff will debate, discuss and argue their way through three 64-team pop culture-centric brackets to determine the best TV series on the air, the best active film director and the best music act of the moment. We have now posted the pairings and starting today (Monday, March 15), we'll begin weeding out the pretenders and celebrating the contenders. Posts will be updated accordingly. Below are quick links to each region of all three brackets and a schedule for each round.FILM: BEST ACTIVE DIRECTOR Veterans RegionNewbies(ish) RegionIndie Darlings RegionPopulist Pros RegionTV: BEST SHOW ON RIGHT NOWDrama RegionReality/Variety/Talk RegionComedy RegionSci-Fi/Fantasy/Action RegionMUSIC: ARTIST OF THE MOMENTHip-Hop RegionPitchfork RegionPop RegionMiscellaneous RegionSCHEDULERound of 64: 3/15 to 3/19Round of 32: 3/20 to 3/24Round of 16: 3/25 to 3/28Round of 8: 3/29 to 04/01Round of 4: 04/02 to 04/05Round of 2: 04/06 to 04/08
(03/15/10 3:11pm)
Pairings for the Miscellaneous Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Music.
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Pairings for the Pop Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Music.
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Pairings for the Pitchfork Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Music.
(03/15/10 2:56pm)
Pairings for the Hip-Hop Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Music.
(03/14/10 6:57pm)
Pairings for the Populist Pros Directors Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Film.
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Pairings for the Indie Darlings Directors Region of WEEKEND's bracket for
Film.
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Pairings for the Newbies(ish) Directors Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Film.
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Pairings for the Veteran Directors Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Film.
(03/13/10 1:54am)
Pairings for the Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Action Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Television.
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Pairings for the Comedy Region of WEEKEND's bracket for Television.