Assemblog: May 10, 2013
Published on May 10th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Film Festivals, Movies, Science Fiction, Streaming, Trailers, TV |
New this week on Popshifter: Jeff starts some Metal Mayhem with Night Ranger and Mötley Crüe (more installments are coming throughout the month); Luke reviews the “brilliant” cooperative game Monaco: What’s Yours Is Mine; Brad gets transported back to childhood through Jason Lapeyre’s new film I Declare War; and I am impressed with ChristCORE, a new documentary on the Christian hardcore scene seen through the eyes of a nonbeliever.
Assemblog: May 3, 2013 – The Future Of Streaming And Television?
Published on May 3rd, 2013 in: Assemblog, Movies, Science and Technology, Streaming, The Internets, TV |
New this week on Popshifter: Jeff praises The Armoury Show’s “gorgeously slick cathedral Goth with strangely danceable grooves” in the Cherry Red reissue of Waiting For The Floods; Danny calls the new Meat Puppets album, Rat Farm, “the band’s most playful and diverse offering since 1985”; Melissa B. laments the passing of George Jones in her review of the CD reissues of George Jones Country and You’ve Still Got A Place In My Heart; I describe the “geographic grandeur” of the full-length, self-titled debut from Big Black Delta; describe how no-budget, sci-fi flick Manborg “comes from the heart”; explain the “nuanced, complicated” joys of A Royal Affair; congratulate Melvins on their excellent album of covers, Everybody Loves Sausages; and get excited and photo-happy about the upcoming Vicki Berndt art show in Los Angeles.
Assemblog: April 26, 2013
Published on April 26th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Copyright/Piracy, Legal Issues, Movies, TV |
Logan, we miss you.
New this week on Popshifter: Melissa calls Luke-Winslow King “one to watch” in her review of his “excellent” The Coming Tide; Jeff wonders how the labouring man can find time for self-culture in a new installment of “Waxing Nostalgic”; I discuss the new Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead short film Wrecked, praise the “spirited” Chapin Sisters album A Date With The Everly Brothers, and call Life of Pi a “certified cinematic breakthrough.”
Westeros in West Midtown: Game Of Thrones: The Exhibition
Published on April 3rd, 2013 in: Current Faves, Museum Exhibitions, TV |By Maureen
I knew that I would have to wait in line for Game Of Thrones: The Exhibition. It came to New York City for only five days amidst a five-city world tour to promote the show before season three’s premiere. I knew it would be crowded, and I knew it would probably end up taking a whole day to look at half an hour’s worth of an exhibit. I was right about all of these things.
What I didn’t anticipate, however, was how worth it that would all be. I got there about 1:45 p.m. on Friday, and was let into the exhibit at about 4:45 p.m. During the wait, staff members of the exhibit walked up and down the line shouting out trivia questions, and my boyfriend won a pen light by answering “what song is used to convey the message ‘don’t mess with the Lannisters’?” Mostly, though, we were just reading/playing games on various devices.
Ten Ways To Make Grimm Better
Published on April 3rd, 2013 in: Horror, Listicles, Top Ten Lists, TV |
Few shows on TV are frustratingly uneven as NBC’s Grimm. The fairytale-inspired adventures of homicide detective Nick Burkhardt got off to a shaky start early last year, but dramatically improved over the first season. The show got off to a strong start at the beginning of the second season, only to resume wobbling after a long hiatus.
Fans of Grimm acknowledge its flaws, even as they celebrate its strengths. Its ensemble cast and story arcs are strong, and for the most part, the weakness lies in the one-off, week-by-week plots. Here are the suggestions for improvement that I came up with.
Assemblog: March 15, 2013
Published on March 15th, 2013 in: Assemblog, Horror, Legal Issues, Movies, Science and Technology, Science Fiction, Trailers, TV |
Evidence
New this week on Popshifter: Luke encourages us to stop complaining about gaming and raves over Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance; Paul is righteously indignant about the sexist responses to Anita Sarkeesian’s first Tropes vs. Women video; Cait says Bowie’s The Next Day has “an urgency, an energy and intensity long missing;” Hanna calls Alasdair Roberts & Friends’ A Wonder Working Stone “truly remarkable;” Lisa feels Oz the Great and Powerful is “too flawed” for a popcorn movie; Chelsea encourages SXSW attendees to check out the rock en español of Café Tacvba, Bajofondo, and Molotov; I think Girls Names’ The New Life is “damn fine,” am impressed with the “outstanding performances” in Jack & Diane, get my hackles up about “mocktresses,” talk about upcoming horror film Lord of Tears, and give an overview of Canadian Music Week Film Fest 13.
Assemblog: February 22, 2013
Published on February 22nd, 2013 in: Assemblog, Books, Copyright/Piracy, Feminism, Film Festivals, Gaming, Horror, Legal Issues, Movies, Science and Technology, The Internets, Trailers, TV |
Inside Llewyn Davis
New this week on Popshifter: Paul takes Men’s Rights Advocates to task in his article on Women in Gaming and tells tales of pro wrestling redemptions; Chelsea loves Lady Lamb the Beekeeper’s first full-length album RiPLEY PINE; I fawn over new releases from Parenthetical Girls, Dawn McCarthy & Bonnie “Prince” Billy, and Iceage, share the latest from Big Black Delta, and review French Horn Rebellion’s newest EP Love Is Dangerous; and Hanna admires both the humor and scientific methods found in The Marriage of True Minds from Matmos.
TV Is Dead, Long Live TV: Why We Should Still Call It Television
Published on February 15th, 2013 in: Science and Technology, Streaming, The Internets, TV, TV Is Dead Long Live TV |
I think the moral lesson behind The Booth at the End is: Don’t over think things. It’s also worth noting that while neon signs still use tubes to convey messages, this is no longer true of modern TVs.
Two weeks ago I wrote a piece acknowledging Netflix as our new media overlords for the occasion of the premiere of House of Cards. The success of the first independent series produced by Netflix, along with the continued success enjoyed by web series and Hulu-produced content, has some scratching their heads about what to call this new viewing experience. I have an answer to this question: when enjoying The Booth at the End on Hulu or MyMusic on YouTube, one is watching television.
This search for another name for what we are doing while we enjoy Very Mary Kate or Husbands is pointless. That many consume this entertainment via a screen on what we now call a computer rather than on what we have traditionally called a television is immaterial.
TV is Dead, Long Live TV: I Welcome Netflix As Our New Television Overlords
Published on February 1st, 2013 in: Streaming, TV, TV Is Dead Long Live TV |
The author’s Netflix home screen. Our new media overlords know what my family wants to watch a surprising amount of the time.
With House of Cards premiering February 1 on Netflix, it’s time to acknowledge our new media overlords. While I have yet to see the new series, I have a strong suspicion I’ll like it—Kevin Spacey was born to play to the Devil, and television loves an actor that chews scenery. As long as the writing is solid, with Spacey in the lead and Robin Wright as his dance partner, they could be acting with no sets and wearing clothes by Hanes sweat suit division and I’d still watch. Investors agree with me; Netflix stock shot up 42 percent in the last week, but exactly why the stock made such a dramatic jump is a reflection of the struggle between old and new media, and involves the death of linear TV and the complex copyright struggles that tangle all visual media distribution.
Music Review: Buck Owens, Honky Tonk Man: Buck Sings Country Classics
Published on January 23rd, 2013 in: Current Faves, Music, Music Reviews, Retrovirus, Reviews, TV |
Another gem appears from the Buck Owens vault. Honky Tonk Man: Buck Sings Country Classics is a collection of musical backing tracks from Hee Haw with Buck’s reference vocals over them, which sounds like it wouldn’t be a treasure at all. But let me back up a moment.