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Ad Nauseum: WTF!? Star Wars Update
OK, here's Volkwagen's full Star Wars themed Superbowl ad. WTF!? Probably the worst use of Star Wars ever ...even worse than the Yodafone spot. Did Lucas give the major brands 3 minutes to come up with a concept if they wanted to cash in on his assets or something? Abominable.
1st Feb 2012 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Promo Promo: Wilco vs Popeye
Animated promo up for WIlco's track "Dawned on Me" .....starring the band and Popeye himself. Directed by Darren Romanelli
26th Jan 2012 - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP: Bob Holness
RIP Blockbusters presenter Bob Holness, who has died aged 83. Never was so much humour derived amongst students everywhere from lines like "I'll have an E please Bob".
6th Jan 2012 - Add Comment - Tweet
Portlandia: Just One Moore
the inhabitants of IFC's hipstercom Portlandia get the Battlestar boxset bug (know the feeling)
3rd Jan 2012 - Add Comment - Tweet
Breaking Bad Season 4
This show just gets better and better, with S4 providing the tightest, most rivetting twists yet.
26th Dec 2011
Read more 4.5 star reviews
This Is England '88
Another classy, confident, gut-wrenching slice of foreboding urban drama from Shane Meadows.
16th Dec 2011
Read more 4.5 star reviews
Jeff Tweedy: Weatherman
Hilarious clip of Wilco front man/potential stand-up comedian Jeff Tweedy reading the weather after a performance on Chicago WGN's Morning News show. Harrison Ford, eat your heart out.
16th Dec 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Lost As Star Wars
another one of those What If questions answered: what would Lost look like as Star Wars posters? via LostinComics ... Revenge of the Smoke, may the Dharma be with you etc
13th Dec 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
It's All In the Game, Yo.... The Wire Monopoly
As noted, someone better make this quick. "Omar's coming!"
3rd Dec 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Community Goes Anime
after last year's festive puppet ep, Community's gone anime. love this show, really don't get why Viva don't want to show it again in the UK
2nd Dec 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Knebworth '90
At the turn of the 90s we were looking at a brand new decade. Clean and fresh, it would leave behind the excess of the 80s. Simple suits, hands-free technology. Things would be different.
Keep your eye on Phil Collins in this clip. When you're not looking he subtly sneaks behind the drums.
Jimmy Page coming on stage was one of the greatest musical moments of my life at that point.
Via The Cold Vein
Bonus Facts: Knebworth had a massive concrete skatepark on its grounds until the late 80s. It also doubled as Wayne Manor in Tim Burton's first Batman movie.
24th Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Danger 5
new Australian "60s spies kill-Hitler" spoofy online series Danger 5, from the people who brought you Italian Spiderman
23rd Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Final Score
Legendary football scores announcer Tim Mudgin will be reading the scores out today for the final time, after a whopping six-decade broadcasting career.
Via BBC
19th Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Dalston Superstars
Dalston Superstars "I like to shoot on a mac"
#chimp71
#Fashion
#Film
#Music
#Stupido
#TV
15th Nov 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Top Boy
Utterly outstanding, multi-stranded British urban drama. Beautifully shot, written and acted. Catch it on 4OD.
6th Nov 2011
Read more 4.5 star reviews
RIP: Jimmy Saville
RIP Jimmy Saville, 1926-2011. An incomparable personality.
30th Oct 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Being Elmo
Documentary about Kevin Clash, the man behind (inside) Sesame Street's Elmo [SHOULDN'T THIS COME WITH A SPOILER ALERT? ED]
27th Sep 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Hard Time(s)
Looks like Fugazi's Brendan Canty and Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore have been supplementing their income - both working on (amongst others) the documentary series Hard Time for Nat Geo. Thurston provides narrations, Bredan provides the score...
15th Sep 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Jim'll Fix It: Galactic Picnic
Someone has unearthed a borderline creepy episode of Jim'll Fix It, where a young kid gets to visit Luke Skywalker on the set of Dagobah.
I love Empire as much as the next guy, but looking back at it from this perspective there's a lot of goofy comedy in there. Just sayin'....
Via AICN
9th Sep 2011 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Dinner For Five
The show never really made it over here in the UK (was showing on the Film 24 channel), but Jon Favreau's Hollywood-insider show Dinner For Five makes for an interesting watch, with many episodes on YouTube. Kevin Smith hosts the episode above, with Jason Lee, Stan Lee, Mark Hamill and JJ Abrams shooting the breeze.
See Will Ferrell and Eddie Izzard amongst the guests in the clip below.
17th Aug 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Jeff Bridges and The Abiders
Fun piece up at AICN documenting Jeff Bridges' musical appearance on legendary TV show Austin City Limits.
UPDATE: Rolling Stone have a live session with the band.
14th Aug 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Rewind: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
thanks to Dr Chimp for reminding us of the excellent intro to the 1979 TV version; the new one's got a lot to live up to, glad to see they haven't modernised it
1st Jul 2011 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Yeaaaaaah Boyyyyy!
Mildly embarrassing mid-80's Beastie Boys promo surfaces on YouTube.
28th Jun 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Boardwalk Empire Season 2 Teaser
Looking forward to the return of Richard Harrow very much indeed.
Via AICN
27th Jun 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Sky Go
update to the Sky Player coming Jul 6 - Sky Go, sounds like it's more iPad friendly etc
21st Jun 2011 - 1 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
RIP: Jackass Ryan Dunn
Jackass' Ryan Dunn has died in a non-stunt related car crash in Philadelphia. Always one of my favourites on the show, and a totem for beard appreciators everywhere.
Via BBC
#CSF
#CurrentAffairs
#Film
#RIP
#Stupido
#TV
21st Jun 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Beastie Boys Mystery Quiz
Here's a mystery: I was watching a Smiths concert on TV last night, recorded for German TV institution Rockpalast in 1984. As Morrissey and Marr were followed back to their dressing room, I spotted the above Beastie Boys sticker on the dressing room door.
As we all know, the Beasties didn't get anywhere near the mainstream until the build up and release of Licenced To Ill in 1986 - and research shows that they didn't appear on Rockpalast until 1998. A quick Google brought up the video below of them from 1984 (not from Rockpalast, from the Scott and Gary Show), so they were on the radar to some extent and Ad Rock even seems to have a similar sticker stuck on the front of his guitar.
Add your suggested explanation in the comments.
16th Jun 2011 - 2 comments - Add Comment - Tweet
Justified
Season 2
Based on Elmore Leonard's character US Marshall Raylan Givens, Justified is proving to be one of the more reliable shows on TV these days. Following the proven formula of the first, season two follows a few stand-alone stories, while slowly building a season arc that comes to a head with a finale spread over the last 3 or 4 episodes. Justified eschews the high-concepts of 24 or Lost and instead concentrates on good story, great character and solid production - as Timothy Olyphant's modern day cowboy marshall clears up wrong doing in redneck America.
While heroes don't come much cooler than Raylan Givens, he's frequently given a run for his money by Good/Bad guy Boyd Crowther. It's a typecast-breaking performance from ex-crony-on-The-Shield Walton Goggins, who plays the flip-side of Givens perfectly - trying his best to stay out of trouble, but just not being able to resist it. The most likeable TV criminal since Stringer Bell.
7th Jun 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
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How To Make It In America
Season 1
HBO
With Entourage winding down after an epic 7 (soon to be 8th and final) seasons, HBO have started to line up it's successor. While the no-money, Lower East Side vibe of aspiring fashion entrepreneurs Ben Epstein and Cam Calderon might seem like a million miles from the valet parking of Vincent Chase's Hollywood, there are many parallels with this East Coast cousin - following the same dreams of success and the high life, just jumping on board at an earlier stage.
Despite the opposing fortunes, lifestyle envy also plays a big part here and while the reality of always being a dollar short might not quite hold the everlasting appeal of having a dollar too much, always knowing the hippest parties and being on first-name terms with every door man in town is something many of us would have loved 15 years ago. Slow motion mixes with flash frame photography and well chosen music to beautifully capture the gritty, exciting world of opportunity of both the Lower East Side and the just-graduated student mentality.
How To Make It In America has that quick-fix vibe that gets you high in 25 minutes and leaves you wanting more. Well-rounded episodes that fly by, but the season arc stays strong and is filled out well with multiple story strands (including a career-best performance from Luis Guzman and Rasta Monsta) all staying as strong as each other, while still building the bigger picture of the show's overall themes and agenda.
Great stuff. Should be back for season 2 later on in 2011.
1st Jun 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
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Escape from the island ....Alcatraz, that is
Trailer up for the new JJ Abrams TV show - Alcatraz. Looks to be positioned somewhere between Lost and Fringe in terms of production quality and originality.
Via AICN
17th May 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace
New tech-paranoia doc from Adam Curtis (Power Of Nightmares), 23 May BBC2
#chimp71
#D.U.D.(DumbUpDudes!)
#Tech
#TrailerPark
#TV
8th May 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
HBO 2 GO
It's US-only of course, but HBO's new iPad app looks pretty impressive for catching up with your favourite shows from the comfort of your bed/toilet/plane.
Fingers crossed that Sky Atlantic might release something similar. And that it doesn't cost an extra £10 a month.
Via Uncrate
3rd May 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: 500 Days of Community Mash Up
Nice mash-up of chimp-approved US sitcom "Community" and 500 Days of Summer.
Via @JoelMcHale
#CSF
#Film
#Stupido
#TrailerPark
#TV
27th Apr 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Netflix Vs HBO
Netflix seems to be fancying itself as the next HBO, commisioning a remake of 1990 British TV show House of Cards under the guiding hand of David Fincher - and starring Kevin Spacey. The show will initially run exclusively via Netflix's own streaming services late next year. In a show of confidence, they have commisioned two full series up front - 26 episodes. Quite a stretch, considering the original was only four parts.
Netflix already has 20m subscribers, compared to HBO's 28m. If only Love Film was as ambitious.
Via WSJ
29th Mar 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: Day V Lately
Anyone who remembers J.R. Hartley from 1983 will get the joke with Yell's mildly nauseating updated commercial, but the campaign goes beyond the TV ad. Check out Day V Lately's website, in all in 1996-era glory. Best viewed in Internet Explorer.
Strange to only aim an ad at the over 28's, but at least Yellow Pages seem to be becoming aware of who might actually use them these days. We have Ask Jeeves now after all.
9th Mar 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Skate or die: The Get By - Skating NYC
In support of last year's New York-set dramedy How To Make It In America, HBO made this nice little film The Get By - documenting the New York skate scene.
The show also features references to a supposed New York skate 'legend' - Wilfredo Gomez ... a film about whom you can see above.
7th Mar 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Anime X Men
Warren Ellis is supervising a new strand of anime X-Men stories. Can't be worse than X-Men 3. Ain't It Cool has more details
2nd Mar 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Trailer Park: Games Of Thrones
quite like the look of this new epic fantasy show - coming to Sky Atlantic a day after US HBO transmission, Apr 18
24th Feb 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Ad Nauseum: The Psychology of Mad Men
Great article over at the BBC Blogs looking into some of the psychology and thinking behind the advertising boom of the 1950's and 60's.
7th Feb 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
My Morning Jacket v American Dad
weird team-ups of our time: My Morning Jacket on American Dad
24th Jan 2011 - Add Comment - Tweet
Simpsons v Fox News (Taiwan style)
the Next Media animation bots have been at it again: here's their take on the Simpsons clash w Fox News, including an actual shark to jump over
7th Dec 2010 - Add Comment - Tweet