Tribeca Film Festival: Week 1
ALEX: The Tribeca Film Festival started last week, though for the first time Lower Manhattan isn’t the only host to the festivities. Films are screening in such far off destinations as 34th St. and Lincoln Center. It’s an odd vibe for the festival which once occupied only a few blocks near Battery Park. There are an overwhelming number of choices too. In this piece, Michele and I are gonna tear through our first block of films, which seemingly star all of Young Hollywood.
First up is Fifty Pills, starring Lou Pucci, Kristen Bell, and John Hensley (aka Thumbsucker, Veronica Mars, and Matt McNamara of Nip/Tuck). Pucci is in danger of getting kicked out of NYU if he doesn’t come up with the last $1000 of owed tuition, and all he has to raise the money are the titular fifty hits of ecstasy.
MICHELE: I had been really excited to see this movie, since it had such a great cast. Lou Pucci was great in Thumbsucker, and John Hensley is my younger crush in Nip/Tuck. After Pucci’s roommate, played by Hensley, throws yet another party & gets busted, Pucci loses his scholarship & must pay back around a $1,000. This first off seemed impractical to me. You lose your scholarship half way through the semester & you only have to pay the remaining money? Last I checked, you had to pay it ALL back. But I digress. Hensley sets him up with the 50 pills (of ecstasy) as a way of making the situation better. For me this just doesn’t work- what dealer would just give 50 pills to sell, along with a beeper & tell him good luck? Only one who had a death wish from his supplier.
Michael returns with a bang to ‘Lost’
Wes is off this week for finals, so I’ll be filling in. If you haven’t watched this episode yet, and don’t want it to be ruined, just stop reading. Any complaints about how now the episode is ruined for you will only serve to get you mocked. With that said, here we go… Continues after the jump »
New ‘Superman Returns’ trailer in QuickTime
For those of you keeping count, this is the second full trailer for “Superman Returns.”
I’ll finally admit that I’m starting to get excited for this movie. Yeah, I know, I talked some crap on it back in like November, but this honestly does look good.
Head over to Apple’s trailers page to check it out in glorious HD QuickTime.
New X-Men 3 footage on the net
Ready to see Wolverine chop off a Sentinel’s head? I thought so.
With the addition of so many new mutants, I’m sort of worried about X-Men getting hokey, but X2 was damn near flawless, so this still gets the benefit of the doubt. It looks kind of crappy, but it’s probably recorded from The Tonight Show or something. I didn’t really bother to find out. I’m still excited for the movie, but I’m a little more cautious than I was two minutes ago.
Crack is whack! Unless you’re Pete Doherty
I suppose there’s really nothing that Pete Doherty can do to shock me these days.
Wait, what? He injected heroin into a female fan’s arm while she was passed out on her kitchen floor and then smoked some crack?
OK, I guess that’s a little shocking.
None of my friends are smack fiends or crackheads, so I’m not really an expert on what to do when somebody overdoses on the stuff. As a writer, I do, however, have many alcoholic friends. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when somebody is passed out drunk on the floor, it’s almost never a good idea to start force feeding them grain alcohol, no matter how tempting the urge may be. One would assume that the same goes for sweet lady H.
Better Than The Life Aquatic
I’m cheap, so can I have some money?
Could someone please explain this to me? The Republicans are proposing an energy package to give taxpayers a $100 rebate, to offset the high price of gasoline. Excuse me? Why should my tax dollars be given to all the other taxpayers in the U.S., just because gas prices are high? Bad logic alert! I pay taxes. Gas prices are high. People complain. So money is given back to people to stop their whining? Why not give a $5 rebate to taxpayers because the cost of movie tickets is high? I worked hard to pay my taxes, and now that money is going to be simply handed out, to pedestrians and Hummer drivers alike? I don’t like this idea one bit. I thought Republicans were usually against government handouts. And a measly $100 will not solve the long-term problem. All it does is delay/suppress citizens complaining. Unless the gas companies are doing something illegal, the government should not be involved in this at all. Similarly, just because some major airline is having trouble turning a profit, I do NOT think the government should hand them millions of dollars to stay in business. In the long run, we as consumers will all be better off if those airlines die off, or if people really do choose alternatives to gasoline. Some C-note hand out is not going to be solving jack squat.
Don’t forget that this proposal would be coupled with drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Boo and Hiss, Congress! Try mandating fuel efficiency standards for auto-makers, then after that you can talk to me about wasting my money on whiny folks. The price of gas is too high? Boo-hoo! Take the bus to work. Try walking. Invest in a vehicle that uses less gas. But don’t turn to the government and ask for MY tax dollars, just because filling up your S.U.V. meant you couldn’t afford an Xbox 360.
Your Summer Vacation
Sometimes it’s hard to find that perfect vacation to take your significant other on every summer. Sometimes it’s a beach trip, sometimes it’s just a quick weekend back home. As Rosie O’Donnell has pointed out, sometimes these normal vacations just aren’t enough with you and your significant other happen to be of the same sex. If that describes your situation, why not go all out this year with Rainbow Cruise Lines? Check out their website today!
Oops, she did it again
The Gray Lady of celebrity journalism, US Weekly, has the scoop of the century — Britney’s pregnant — again! OK, so it’s not much of a scoop. Expect to see this story play out in a similar fashion once a year or so for the next 23 or so years. The second Britney married Kevin Federline, it was pretty much a solid bet that Britney would spend the majority of her life up until menopause with swollen ankles and raising her big hillbilly clan.
Britney Spears, 24, couldn’t hide her pregnancy any longer when she showed up poolside at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas this weekend, sporting a red bikini and a serious bump. The singer is expecting her second child with husband Kevin Federline, 28, sources have confirmed to Us
Remember that hot 16-year-old girl named Britney Spears dancing around in a school uniform? No sooner than she hit the scene did predictions start rolling in on how long after her 18th birthday she’d end up in Playboy. I hope you didn’t lay down any cash on that, because it’s never going to happen.
If it does, it’ll be another Tiffany deal where she shows up 15 years after that last fleeting bit of real fame. OK, Tiffany was only like 31 at the time, which isn’t bad, but I predict a soft-focus, heavyily backlit Britney to appear sometime around the time she turns 49.
Be sure to head over to US Weekly for a super-sexy pic.
No “Sun, Sun, Sun” in this forecast
- The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun
- Release Date: 01/24/2006
- Rilo Kiley side project's boring sophomore release borders on the level of elevator music.
The Elected’s sophomore effort Sun, Sun, Sun can be summed up in one very appropriate, very condemning word: nice.
Yes, that’s nice, as in: “My mom came up to visit me last weekend and we had a nice time.” Or: “Yeah, those Venetian blinds sure would add a nice touch to the guest bedroom.”
Or even still, when a prospective love interest tells you: “You’re a really nice person.” (Ok, you get the point.)
