[Movie Reviews] Havoc

Havoc

Directed by Barbara Kopple

Written by Jessica Kaplan and Stephen Gaghan

Starring Anne Hathaway, Bijou Phillips, Shiri Appleby, Freddy Rodriguez, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Biehn and Laura San Giacomo

A movie like Havoc is what happens when someone wants to tell a slice of life story without the honesty. When this works (Dazed and Confused, Clerks, and Kids come to mind) it’s unmistakably golden. When it doesn’t, it’s embarrassing for everyone involved.

The film stars Anne Hathaway as a well-to-do L.A. teen who tries to mix it up with elements of the ghetto (specifically, Latinos). Clearly, she’s confused about her identity, rebelling against her status as a debutante.

Yeah, we get it…rich people have problems too. Like, for example, choosing a movie role that’ll shed your persona as the Disney goodie-good from Princess Diaries. Well, Ms. Hathaway…while I can watch you writhe on sofas all day, I cannot watch you spit Jay-Z verses and pretend to drink Tequila with the supporting cast of Training Day for 90 minutes.

Screenwriter Jessica Kaplan didn’t live to see Havoc produced. I can only speculate that Kaplan’s original script was either horrible (she sold the treatment for the film at the age of 14?!?!) or genuine, a heart-felt story from a female writer who wasn’t too far removed from the age and the surroundings of her protagonist. Regardless, once taken over by director Barbara Kopple and writer Stephen Gaghan, the whole thing comes off as a slice of life story that doesn’t know what life it’s slicing from.

[Bamn] Stop The World, I Wanna Get off!

Well, the 2 big pieces of news this week is that DC Conspiracy announced it's date for the 2010 DC Counter Culture Fest and they are also launching a monthly newspaper. All of this has been thrown around on their message boards with no official announcement, so expect some details to change in the future.

So which do you want to hear first, details on the Counter Culture Fest or the newspaper? CC Fest first? Okay...

The DC Counter Culture Fest is an annual convention that celebrates (and sells) everything fringe, offbeat, and geeky --- It's like a flea market/carnival rolled into one. The fifth annual con will be held at RFD (Nice!) in Chinatown in Washington, DC. Expect to see indy comics, various fashions, jewelry, doo-dads, boobles, booze, crafts, live entertainment and The Bamn Crew there on October 23rd 2010. I'll keep you posted on the details as we get closer to the date, but you can also visit http://www.dcconspiracy.com/.

As for the newspaper, it's titled the Silver Bullet and while details are sketchy, I do know that David Dean (co-creator of Bamn and artist for Dr. Dremo's Horros of War) and I (Me) are in the planning stages of contributing a comedy strip for it. Okay, okay, it's more like a full page comic, but I'll cool off on the details until I have more to give you. Okay? Okay.

See you next week.

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[Safe For Work] Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Review

I'm sure that anyone who would care about this has already seen this, but I figured I'd post it anyway.
Um, while it's doesn't have nudity or anything I would find offensive, it does have some parts that may offend others, so turn the volume down if you're listening to this at work. It's hilarious and true, but it gets a little blue.
CLICKITY-CLICK for his review of James Cameron's Avatar.

[Android Massacre] The No. 6 Most Wanted

Pay attention, maggots! Recognize the signs, read your AM doctrines, and suit up for the fight of your life…the Android Massacre has made a list of the 10 Most Wanted people/things that will ultimately turn the tide in favor of the robot slave masters. A new name will be added to the list every Monday for the next several weeks...and as always, if you encounter any of these individuals, PLEASE proceed with caution.


Today at Number 6 is...Dick Cheney.


Find out why at: www.androidmassacre.com

[Safe For Work] Gene Colan @ Marvelous Color

Over a month ago, I signed up to this newsletter for Marvelous Color (thanks to the folks at Ghetto Manga). Unfortunately, the exhibit, which focuses on Marvel's influx of Black and Hispanic characters during the previous century, is in New York and I'm in DC. However, just 'cause I gotta work 3 hours away doesn't mean you can't make that trip.
Now they've got Gene "The Dean" Colan (co-creator of Blade and much more) doing a Q & A session on February 24th (and how bad @$$ does Colan look in the promotional image, above?). If you're a Marvel geek like me, you've got $20 to blow, and you're, either in NYC or willing to travel...
CLICKITY-CLICK: http://www.marvelouscolor.com/index.html

[Safe for Work] Desensitize Yourself

Action movies have rotted my brain. Seriously, I grew up on action flicks from the '80s and '90s and, yes, I do view the mundane aspects of everyday life as a potential car chase, shootout, or an opportunity to jump through a pane glass window.
Yeah, I'm a product of media desensitization...and I'm proud of it! And I don't want to hear any crap about Columbine or the Military 'cause I've never fired a real gun in my entire life and I have no real intersest in doing so (okay, maybe a little).
Regardless of what all the pundits say, violence on TV cannot out muscle a proper family upbringing. So with that in mind...prepare your brain, 'cause it's time for some action!
Because it's 3:40pm on a Saturday, and I have nothing else to do (for once), I'm grabbing my favorite teenage memories of gunfire, car chases, and blood from YouTube and lining them all up for your viewing pleasure. Consider it a social experiment. If I'm wrong, then you'll watch this and then go out and do something that'll cause you to go to jail. But if I'm right, and we can stop this thing, Lenny...you will have saved the lives of millions of registered voters.

[Safe For Work] A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

Grabbed this from Boing Boing, a website that is pretty much the definition of what the internet is for.
If you haven't visited Boing Boing and you consider yourself a geek, then by all means...CLICKITY CLICK.

Meanwhile, my Dad informed me of a "controversy" surrounding the latest issue of Captain America. *eye roll*

[Android Massacre] The No. 7 Most Wanted

Pay attention, maggots! Recognize the signs, read your AM doctrines, and suit up for the fight of your life…the Android Massacre has made a list of the 10 Most Wanted people/things that will ultimately turn the tide in favor of the robot slave masters. A new name will be added to the list every Monday for the next several weeks...and as always, if you encounter any of these individuals, PLEASE proceed with caution.

Today at Number 8 is...well, it's a surprise.
Find out why at: www.androidmassacre.com

[Safe For Work] Mm, Space Odyssey Shakes....

As you can imagine, I managed to catch a ton of TV during the "Snowpocalypse." Most of it was on DVD (okay, and some episodes of Jersey Shore *AHEM*), but on occasion I would find something on Fios that wasn't completely embarrassing to watch. Apparently, the refurbished AMC has a series titled Movies That Shook the World. If it's not obvious from the title, the show selects a different film each episode and focus on the it's influence in popular culture. Pundits, established filmmakers, and movie critics all sound off on the subject as you get details on their storied productions.
I've grabbed Part One of the 2001: Space Odyssey episode from YouTube (you can watch the rest from there). You can buy other episodes on DVD from AMC's online store, but if you're cheap like me then you can probably just find them OnDemand.

[ Safe For Work] Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer

For those of you that missed it during the Super Bowl because they were braving the snow (like me)...
It's M. Knight Shamawhatever,so don't get too excited...it could go pear-shaped in the last 20 minutes.

[Bamn] Wintery Hell

Due to increment weather, there will be no Bamn updates this week. We are not the Post Office, people!
Seriously, Jay, Ron, and I didn't meet this week because of the Snowpocalypse that hit the DC-Metro area (and some other parts of the country that I don't care about). The decision was a silent one, seeing how we didn't actually talk to each other during all this. Hm, come to think of it, Jay and Ron may be dead for all I know. Maybe I should contact them and make sure the comic...er, uh...they are okay:
HEY, JAY! RON! If you're alive and if you're reading this blog update leave a comment at the bottom!

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Posted By Contact us at BamnCan@hotmail.com to Bamn at 2/10/2010 08:43:00 AM

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[Android Massacre] The No. 8 Most Wanted

Pay attention, maggots! Recognize the signs, read your AM doctrines, and suit up for the fight of your life…the Android Massacre has made a list of the 10 Most Wanted people/things that will ultimately turn the tide in favor of the robot slave masters. A new name will be added to the list every Monday for the next several weeks...and as always, if you encounter any of these individuals, PLEASE proceed with caution.

Today at Number 8 is...well, it's a surprise.

Find out why at: www.androidmassacre.com

[Trailer Trash] A-Team, The Expendables, The Losers

One of these things is not like the other. Oh, wait.Yeah they are.

[Bamn] Say, "Hello" to Claire

Some overdue information this week...Claire Kinnane is joining Jay Payne on Crystal Clear. Claire has been helping re-write the book for the last few months.
Kinnane is a Fine Arts major planning to join the world of teaching in the immediate future. Her inclusion on Crystal Clear sparked from a genuine interest after reading the first issue (she knew Jay previous to all this). Seeing how the main character is a female it only seemed fitting to get a woman's voice into the series.
Claire doesn't have much of an internet presence (and I wouldn't dare post her Facebook page for the world to see), so all I can tell you about her is that her favorite color is "fear," she goes to see Aerosmith in concert whenever they are in town and she hopes to one day teach literature for colleges. You can expect to see her contribution as a writer on Crystal Clear starting with issue #2 (TBA).
Claire this one is for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk

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[Android Massacre] The No. 9 Most Wanted

 

Pay attention, maggots! Recognize the signs, read your AM doctrines, and suit up for the fight of your life…the Android Massacre has made a list of the 10 Most Wanted people/things that will ultimately turn the tide in favor of the robot slave masters. A new name will be added to the list every Monday for the next 10 weeks. And as always, if you encounter any of these individuals PLEASE proceed with caution.

Today at Number 9 is Xeni Jardin.  
Find out why at: www.androidmassacre.com