The Secret Pop Rap History of Wu-Tang
That Prince Rakeem joint may sound corny in light of The Wu, but as pop rap it's a great track. It is is stupid catchy, has a great beat, and a killer hook. How this wasn't huge in the era of Fresh Prince, Digital Underground, Young M.C. and Salt 'n' Peppa is beyond me. Mock it if…

I'll take a pass at answering this, at least in part. I posted this over at the Voice site, but I think it can stand repeating.

"I came for the Hal Hartley. I stayed for the Robert John Burke. "

Great movie. On Netflix instant at present. Highly recommend. Because it is, yes, a very polite but unsettling take on the end of the world. A lot of 80s-era Atom Egoyan influence, especially the seemingly random stories coming together and crossing paths. A cast of ringers, including David Cronenberg at his most icy.

Mine.
Scrawl - Dig the icon. 80s lo-fi-ish indie rock that never really seemed to get beyond those who were already on board, and seem mostly forgotten and out of print now. Their first albums were as an all female power-trio and somehow this worked against them as they weren't girly (Go-Gos, Liz Phair) or Riot Grrl.…

1982's Amityville Horror II: The Possession
Kenneth, That's the first time I've heard anyone mention that movie but when I was, what, 15 I snuck into to see it. Now I haven't seen it since and can't claim to be a fan, but to this day it has stuck with me. Of course, mostly it's the memory of sneaking into a movie with…

I admit to having huge expectations of this - "Another burried Judge movie about how stupid America is becoming? This is going to be fuckin' hilarious." And, yeah, I was more than a little underwhelmed when I finally saw it. But I've found that Idiocracy holds up surprisingly well, and really is every bit as funny as…

I just last night watched the documentary on Netflix called 'American Grindhouse' that had a bunch of footage and discussion on pre-code movies and the birth of exploitation movies. And it is indeed pretty interesting how racy movies were back then.

Also, Shrike, that is some facile criticism. Of course Session 9 has some greater significance. It's like bitching The Exorcist sucks because the title indicates that an exorcism is a major point in the movie.

I'll go to bat for this. Absolutely one of my favorite horror movies, and I think a really terrific independent film. Scott does a fine job of elucidating some of the most fascinating aspects of this movie. But, having seen it a few times, there's lots of small details that also create the sense of dread and ratchet…

(from imdb)
Jane - The Waitress: I know what you need.
Josh Hutton: Excuse me?
Jane - The Waitress: You need a woman.
Josh Hutton: Oh?
Jane - The Waitress: That girl is crazy.
Josh Hutton: I know but I like her.
Jane - The Waitress: Yeah, but she's leaving town.
Josh Hutton: So I've heard.
Jane - The Waitress: So come on, what…

@Your Own Personal Rhesus, if that's true that's too bad. As others have said downthread, those first 4 movies (the Long Island trilogy and Surviving Desire) are revelatory. Trust, while not my favorite (I think Simple Men wins by a nose), is probably the one that most people will remember and serves as perhaps the…

Words cannot express
I have a huge crush on Fucked Up right now. Which is interesting because I otherwise have to stretch to think of current guitar based music that I find as consistently exciting. Sure I'm an old post-punk/post-hardcore dude (like, I saw Minutemen, Husker Du, Big Black live) but mostly these days I…

I've seen trailers for old murder mysteries where they've shown huge chunks of the final scenes.

Actually, it's a myth that this is a recent development in trailers. Many movies going back through the 50s and 40s have trailers that basically give away key points in the movie. I recently heard (here?) that it was Psycho that began the age of modern spoilers. In any case, watch trailers on old black 'n' white…

Al, good call. I often think of Smart Patrol/Mr. DNA when I think of how solid yet inventive Myers was as a drummer; the whole "Duty Now…" album is one long master class on great rock 'n' roll drumming that doesn't do what is expected from a drummer. But yeah, the drum pads and treadmills were the start of me not…

No, Devo's secret ingredient most certainly *wasn't* a drum machine. As far as I'm concerned, Devo's 80s decline can be measured by how fancy the technology on the album is. perma is indeed right, the drumming on those first albums is tremendous, and a lot of the band's sound can be attributed to the how great a rock…

@idiotking That's fine, sometimes even homely guys can be shallow. But the movie otherwise positions Gervais to be a hapless schlub to whom we're supposed to relate, or at least feel empathy. He is the everyman who gets a raw deal because he is graced with guile in a world that prizes beauty. And who among us but a…

Yeah, sorry
I'm with the 'in no way is this a secret success' contingent. Yes, the romance is as joyless and baffling, and Garner's character as ill conceived, as Noel illustrates. And, indeed, the drab production design and mirthless acting do it no favors. A few good jokes and a clever premise do in no way improve…

I don't know if I've even heard another Sum 41 song, but, indeed, it was a fun throwaway tune that for me was impossible to resist. I also think the video is stupid entertaining. And I'm way too old for this shit.