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Easing into the post-holiday week...   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Tuesday, May 29, 2018 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE ONLY BIG "NEWS" OF THE WEEKEND IS THIS:

WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: Solo: A Star Wars Story tops the chart with a four-day haul of 103MM... far below tracking projections of 130MM, and the lowest opening for this franchise in the Disney era (tho the best opening for director Ron Howard).  Although it has the next couple of weekends to itself, this is in no way good news for the House of Mouse, esp. with only 65MM in foreign grosses.  The fact that Howard was brought in to reshoot as much as 85 percent of this movie inflated the production budget to a reported 250-300MM.  Add in the marketing and ancillary costs and there's a non-zero chance Solo winds up somewhere in a breakeven range.  Disney's not making these to break even, even if it sells toys or fills out theme parks.  Whether it's market saturation, or this one being shunned as punishment for The Last Jedi, I doubt Disney will want to rest on the staus quo.    Deadpool 2 places with 55MM on a 56 percent drop; that's a bit steep for a second frame on a holiday weekend, but with almost 500MM worldwide against a 110M budget, the studio should probably be content against its competition.  Avengers: Infinity War shows with another 21.2MM in its fifth frame.  Book Club takes the fourth slot with 12.5MM on a leggy 8 percent drop.  Life of the Party rounds out the Top Five with 7MM on a 9 percent drop and continues to look like Melissa McCarthy's lowest-grossing star vehicle to date.

1528 Reads

Memorial Day 2018   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Monday, May 28, 2018 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

MEMORIAL DAY has become -- in the minds of some -- a day devoted to uncovering their swimming pools and barbeques. So take a moment (preferably at 3 p.m. local time) to remember what it's really about.You can read about "The Meaning of Memorial Day" with selections from American authors and statesmen, including Herman Melville, Ernie Pyle, Louisa May Alcott, Frederick Douglass, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Joyce Johnson and the "Arlington Ladies" who attend every funeral in Arlington National Cemetery, to ensure no soldier is buried alone, take more than a moment.  Re-read "A Death in the Family," as powerful as it was when Christopher Hitchens wrote it in 2007.  Revisit William Wyler's footage of the last mission of the Memphis Belle, or check the Tube for Alfred Hitchcock's footage of the liberation of the Belsen concentration camp.  The Wikipedia entry for Memorial Day notes a race track connection unrelated to the Indy 500.  It's a good day -- as good as we are likely to get -- for Sgt. Barry Sadler's No. 1 smash, "Ballad of the Green Berets."  or the movie adaptation of Gen. George S. Patton's "Speech to the Third Army."  As "Greyhawk" once wrote at the Mudville Gazette, "This is Memorial Day weekend. Enjoy it. Celebrate it - the people who died to give you that right would appreciate it. But they didn't die peaceably in their beds, these dogs who fell protecting sheep from wolves."

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The Sweet, Neko Case, Natalie Prass, Liz Vice, Weezer, Eagle vs Fox   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Friday, May 25, 2018 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND STARTS HERE:

 

...with THE SWEET!  The bubble-glam rockers are probably best known for the trifecta of "Little Willy," "Ballroom Blitz" and "Fox on the Run," though they also charted with the harder-edged "Action" and the more ballad-y "Love is Like Oxygen."  All of those clips also feature the band's rather unique fashion sense, but you have to see the clip for "Wig Wam Bam" -- complete with headdress -- to see the band at its most ridiculous.  BONUS: "All That Glitters" is a BBC documentary originally broadcast in February 1974 charting a day in the life of The Sweet.

NEKO CASE advance streams Hell-On.

NATALIE PRASS advance streams The Future and the Past.

LIZ VICE advance streams Save Me.

WEEZER covers Toto's "Rosanna."

T. REX: "20th Century Boy." Aow!

RYLEY WALKER talks to Aquarium Drunkard about how Chicago influenced the new album, honing a poetic voice, and why saying “stupid” things online can be a folk-rock boon.

STEPHEN MALKMUS muses at a Lakers game.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at the Essex's "Easier Said Than Done," a song written and performed by active-duty Marines.

GLENN SNODDY, inventor of the fuzz pedal, has died at 96.

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY is this weekend's solo wide release (swidt), currently scoring 72 percent on the ol' Tomatometer (tho only 64 percent among "top critics"). It is probably a better Star Wars movie than The Last Jedi, but probably not as good a one -- or as good a heist movie -- as Rogue One.  As backstories go, it's better executed than Anakin Skywalker's in the prequels, but it nevertheless illustrates the banger of backstories.  Most of the time, what we imagine of how a character became the icon we know will seem better in our imagination than the imagination of someone else (fairly or not). For what it is, it's sprightly and entertaining.  Alden Ehrenreich is credible enough as young Han, which may sound like faint praise... but who is going to match Harrison Ford circa 1977?  The rest of the cast is also quite good, probably better than the dialog reads on the page.  The plot manages to be twisty enough too, considering that anyone familiar with the franchise knows about certain events in Han's life already.  Overall, it's a fun but safe standalone that moves without being moving.

MORGAN FREEMAN is accused by multiple women of a pattern of inappropriate behavior by the actor on set, while promoting his movies, and at his production company.

JASON BATEMAN apologizes after appearing to defend Arrested Development co-star Jeffrey Tambor.

HARVEY WEINSTEIN is set to turn himself in to face charges related to alleged sexual misconduct in connection to a probe by the Manhattan DA's office and NYPD.

EMILIA CLARKE is profiled by Vanity Fair.

BOBA FETT: James Mangold is writing and will direct a Star Wars stand-alone movie centered on the feared bounty hunter and fan-favorite character.

IDRIS ELBA, will star in, direct, and produce music for Netflix's take on The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS will receive the 21st annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor on October 21, 2018.

NICOLAS CAGE's Next Act.

DISENCHANTMENT: First images from Matt Groening's Netflix series.

A BALD EAGLE AND A RED FOX battle it out while soaring 20 feet in the air.

THESE DOGS are obsessed with water

COW CUDDLING: The new wellness trend.

COCKROACH MILK: The new health obsession.

(We're doomed.)

1719 Reads

Town Criers, Soccer Mommy, Lake Street Dive, Baby Sea Turtles   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS: "I'm an Adult Now."

TOWN CRIERS play in a garage for Daytrotter.

SOCCER MOMMY stopped by the World Cafe.

LAKE STREET DIVE stopped by The Current.

RYAN ADAMS and FLORENCE + THE MACHINE performed on The Voice, icymi.

CALEXICO shares "Another Space."

 

CROSBY, STILLS, NASH, YOUNG & TOM JONES: "Long Time Coming." Yes, really.

THE ROLLING STONES reveal their pre-show rituals.

THE DECEMBERISTS are profiled by Relix.

COURTNEY BARNETT takes you inside her sophomore album.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Kyu Nakamoto's Japanese-language fluke hit "Sukiyaki."

 

ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT's cast talked to the NYT, including Jeffrey Tambor.  It got weird.

HARRISON FORD liked Solo, according to Ron Howard.

MOSES FARROW defends Woody Allen and accuses Mia Farrow of abuse.

THE ROYAL WEDDING: A Bad Lip Reading.

WATCHMEN: Damon Lindelof and HBO have announced the star-studded cast of the drama pilot take on Alan Moore's beloved comic series. Hoo boy.

MICHAEL BAY is getting Netflix money to make things go boom in a new movie that will star Ryan Reynolds.

WILL SMITH is ready to make World Cup fans get jiggy wit it.

 

THIS GOOD BOY walks to the pet store all by himself every day to pick up his treats.

HUNDREDS OF BABY SEA TURTLES emerge from their nest underneath the sand in Australia - and head straight toward the sea.

A CAT clings to the roof of a van doing 60 mph on the highway in Nebraska.

COULD RESURRECTING MAMMOTHS help stop Arctic emissions?

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Neko Case, Parliament, All Songs, Labrador   Printer-friendly page   Send this story to someone
Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 08:00 AM
Posted by: Karl

Karl

FREE: "All Right Now." Wouldn't be Summer without it.

NEKO CASE plays a stripped-down Stereogum Session.

PARLIAMENT is streaming their first LP in 38 years, Medicaid Fraud Dogg.

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED, with Guest DJ Stephen Malkmus. Aww yeaaaahhh....

BERNICE streams Puff LP: In the air without a shape.

 

PHOENIX shares a video for "Role Model."

CHVRCHES gets profiled in GQ.

WEARING AND TEARING: Classic rockers who wrestled with Punk and New Wave. (The Who's "Who Are You" should be here.)

THE LOVE LANGUAGE: Stuart McLamb talks to Aquarium Drunkard about the new LP, listening habits, and more.

THE NUMBER ONES looks at Lesley Gore's "It's My Party," the first massive hit that Quincy Jones produced.

 

MOWGLI -- a dark prequel to The Jungle Book -- has a trailer online.

SOLO: Inside A Bumpy Ride to the Big Screen.

PAUL BETTANY explains how he texted his way into Solo.

CHARLIZE THERON will play Megyn Kelly in a movie about Fox News' Roger Ailes.

ARIANA GRANDE is casually dating Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson.

ALEC & HILARIA BALDWIN introduce their latest son.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA hopes to break a record.

PHILIP ROTH, the seminal American novelist whose book “American Pastoral” won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, in 1998, has died, at the age of eighty-five, according to friends close to him.Here's the NYT obit, and retrospective coverage at Tablet.

 

FRED THE LABRADOR has become an unlikely foster parent to nine ducklings.

MOTORISTS RESCUE A HORSE on a Texas highway.

GIANT PREDATORY WORMS have invaded France.

FIREFIGHTERS saved three pigeons plucked from a blaze - by giving them oxygen. 

1576 Reads

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