Assemblog: June 8, 2012

Screencap from Miami Vice Fashion

New this week on Popshifter: a SpaceX celebration mix; reviews of The dB’s Falling Off The Sky, Jherek Bishoff’s Composed; John Singer Sergeant from John Dufilho; and a new band to watch: Sad Baby Wolf.

After all the disappointment involved in the “will they or won’t they?” drama over Community and Parks and Recreation, I feel like I did after NBC cancelled Freaks and Geeks, lo these many seasons ago. I just can’t care about any new shows for a while because it almost feels like, “what’s the point?” Not one of the new TV shows I’ve read about these last few weeks sounds tempting, with one exception (and naturally, it’s one that probably won’t go anywhere): Bullet in the Face.

First of all, how could I not be intrigued by a show with this title and starring Eddie Izzard and Eric Roberts? It sounds ridiculously and offensively violent which is, I’ll admit, part of what keeps me watching True Blood. You can read more about it in this article from Deadline.

When French horror is discussed, Martyrs is frequently at the top of many horror fans’ “best of” lists, but not mine. It’s the kind of movie that actually made me angry for a few months after I watched it. Yet, in retrospect, it’s not a total failure. One major plot change and it could have been brilliant. However, I am willing to give director Pascal Laugier another chance with his new film, The Tall Man. If only I could see a trailer. Bloody Disgusting has shown a couple of images from the film and reports that it’s scheduled for limited theatrical release on August 31 with a DVD release on September 21. I’m not sure if this speaks to the quality of the film or not, but I still would like to at least see a trailer.

Film Junk has raved about The Imposter, which played at Sundance, and /Film tips their hat to the site for turning them on to the quasi-documentary movie, which does seem amazing based on the trailer. If it’s half as good as Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles, it will be worth watching.

Another bizarre yet interesting trailer is the one that’s making the rounds for Branded. Of course, Internet fanboys/trolls/cynics love to think they are not only hilarious, but also original with their endless cracks about John Carpenter’s They Live. At first glance Branded does seem similar to They Live, albeit shifted in a slightly different direction. And yes, the CGI is cheesy, but that didn’t stop The Mist from being one of the most affecting horror films I’ve ever seen. Decide for yourselves. (H/T to /Film for the trailer.)

There is a lovely article on Noomi Rapace regarding her role in Prometheus and her take on Hollywood in 24 Frames which is spot on in terms of her unique and definite appeal. If you’re on the fence about seeing the movie, you should read our review, which might help you make the decision.

A film that also opens this weekend (in Canada) is David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis. An interview with star Robert Pattinson in Movieline shows that he’s actually quite witty—Twilight haters be damned!—something which Cronenberg likely observed when he wanted to cast him in the film. (For the record I have never seen any of the Twilight movies.)

In movie piracy news, the founder of kino.to, a German filesharing site, was sentenced to four years in prison for copyright theft this week. You can read about Dirk B.’s trials (heh) and tribulations in The Hollywood Reporter, but what I found more notable was the article’s mention of the Pirate Party, an actual political party campaigning on “digital revolution” which has “won seats in several state elections and [is] expected to enter the national parliament, the Bundestag, in federal elections next year.” There’s more at Wikipedia. I am curious as to this party’s relationship (if any) to groups like Anonymous and Wikileaks.

If the Internet police have their way, I worry that sites such as Miami Vice Fashion on Tumblr would disappear. Okay, maybe that’s overstating the case, but you have to admit, this is a hilariously cool Tumblr. I remember watching many hours of Miami Vice reruns on F/X in the ’90s and marveling at the truly grotesque nature of most of that decade’s fashion. This is coming from someone who had a subscription to Vogue in the ’80s, mind you. By focusing primarily on the clothing and not the plot, the site manages to breathe new life into what is an incredibly dated (though enjoyable) TV show.

The best thing I’ve heard in music news this week is that the new Jesca Hoop album—The House That Jack Built—is coming out on June 25. Here’s a video for the first single “Born To” and it’s great.

—Less Lee Moore, Managing Editor