http://www.facebook.com/actforhaiti
http://youtube.com/actforhaiti
http://cineinstitute.com
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Act For Haiti benefit in Orlando, FL- July 17th
I want to post a reminder for anyone in Orlando Florida who wants to attend Michael Stahl-David's benefit, Act For Haiti. I am really happy to have been able to get involved with this event, and promote it to my email list. This is a free acting workshop with a suggested door donation of $30, hosted by Michael Stahl-David who was the lead actor in the movie Cloverfield. It is to raise money for the CINE Institute which is Haiti's only film school, a great cause I support since I went to two acting camps when I was a kid, French Woods and Long Lake. I know the value of performing arts education, and want others to be able to have access to it.
http://www.facebook.com/actforhaiti
http://youtube.com/actforhaiti
http://cineinstitute.com
http://www.facebook.com/actforhaiti
http://youtube.com/actforhaiti
http://cineinstitute.com
Lots of quick notes, music & movies to recommend
This week I am a bit time strapped so I have a whole bunch of quick recommendations, not enough time to get too in detail though...
1. Fueled By Ramen artists Versa Emerge just released an awesome new record, you can get it in music stores like J&R Music World and on Itunes with bonus tracks. The album is called "Fixed At Zero", and almost the entire album was posted on the Myspace and it was awesome. I don't have time to write a track by track analysis with radio single choice recommendations like I usually do, but they have a great sound similar to Evanescence and Fall Out Boy, I just learned about them yesterday, so if you like EMO rock this is a must-have album.
http://www.myspace.com/versaemerge
2. EMO music is all the rage now, and another cool act I found out about, they are unsigned, is Break The Glass. They're a local act from North Platte, Nebraska, and are very popular in their hometown, ready for a break on the national stage.
Their music is available for free on PureVolume,
http://www.purevolume.com/BreakTheGlass
They also have a myspace up at
http://www.myspace.com/breaktheglassmusic
3. Two more cool artists whose music I've enjoyed lately, female singer/songwriters, amazing pop/crossover potential, Joy Valencia and Zuri Star:
http://www.myspace.com/zuriallenstar
http://www.myspace.com/joylovemusic
4. Excellent new male singer/songwriter, along the lines of Josh Ritter, with an extremely versatile knack for different musical styles, soft rock, is Sam Shrieve, I bought his album and loved every minute. It's available on Itunes and in independent record stores.
http://www.samshrieve.com/
http://www.myspace.com/samshrieve
5. Haven't heard it yet, but Elijah Wood, who has been getting involved in lots of musical projects such as acting with Selma Blair in a Danko Jones music video, and starting up his own record label, Simian Records; he put together this benefit album "The Art Of Elysum", featuring some of his favorite acts. It's to benefit The Art Of Elysum a non profit that helps children with serious illnesses...
Click here for the Itunes page
and the organization's website is:
http://www.theartofelysium.org
6. If you got my mass email and were confused about what the subject line "Join me on Everything Will Happen Before You Die"... let me explain. It is a website for a predicted-to-be excellent upcoming movie project with a lead role performance by Nick Stahl (also in the upcoming movie Meskada produced by my friend Jen Gatien). If you don't have my email anymore because the confusing subject line made you decide to delete it, there's a link to my profile on the website you can still sign up and add me as a friend. They're promoting the movie with really cool, unique social networking software. You can make a profile and also upload MP3s and I am sure this also means you will get on their email list for when the film is set for a theatrical release.
Click here for my profile and sign up, invite friends!
You can watch the trailer here:
7. Another independent film to check out which is not yet in theaters... Rider Strong produced and acted in the upcoming science fiction movie "Darkening Sky". I read the plot, loved it, and really recommend this movie highly. Rider is an up-and-coming filmmaker besides being an amazing actor. I went to the New York premiere of his short film "Irish Twins" (which he wrote, produced, acted in and directed with his brother Shiloh) and was really impressed. The brothers are currently working on another short film "Dungeon Master" which will feature Rider's girlfriend, the talented and ever-fabulous Alexandra Barreto in the lead role. Here are the links for "Darkening Sky":
Like the movie on Facebook
Here is the movie website:
http://www.darkeningsky.com
Here is the trailer:
8. Another upcoming movie not yet in theaters, with the lead played by Thomas Dekker, singer/songwriter and also known for his lead in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is All About Evil. It's a horror movie, and Thomas always makes great movies. For the premiere he performed an original composition, possibly titled "Welcome To The Horror Show" at least that was the chorus.
Check out his musical performance here:
And here is the trailer for the movie...
That's everything I've got for all of you now... enjoy!
1. Fueled By Ramen artists Versa Emerge just released an awesome new record, you can get it in music stores like J&R Music World and on Itunes with bonus tracks. The album is called "Fixed At Zero", and almost the entire album was posted on the Myspace and it was awesome. I don't have time to write a track by track analysis with radio single choice recommendations like I usually do, but they have a great sound similar to Evanescence and Fall Out Boy, I just learned about them yesterday, so if you like EMO rock this is a must-have album.
http://www.myspace.com/versaemerge
2. EMO music is all the rage now, and another cool act I found out about, they are unsigned, is Break The Glass. They're a local act from North Platte, Nebraska, and are very popular in their hometown, ready for a break on the national stage.
Their music is available for free on PureVolume,
http://www.purevolume.com/BreakTheGlass
They also have a myspace up at
http://www.myspace.com/breaktheglassmusic
3. Two more cool artists whose music I've enjoyed lately, female singer/songwriters, amazing pop/crossover potential, Joy Valencia and Zuri Star:
http://www.myspace.com/zuriallenstar
http://www.myspace.com/joylovemusic
4. Excellent new male singer/songwriter, along the lines of Josh Ritter, with an extremely versatile knack for different musical styles, soft rock, is Sam Shrieve, I bought his album and loved every minute. It's available on Itunes and in independent record stores.
http://www.samshrieve.com/
http://www.myspace.com/samshrieve
5. Haven't heard it yet, but Elijah Wood, who has been getting involved in lots of musical projects such as acting with Selma Blair in a Danko Jones music video, and starting up his own record label, Simian Records; he put together this benefit album "The Art Of Elysum", featuring some of his favorite acts. It's to benefit The Art Of Elysum a non profit that helps children with serious illnesses...
Click here for the Itunes page
and the organization's website is:
http://www.theartofelysium.org
6. If you got my mass email and were confused about what the subject line "Join me on Everything Will Happen Before You Die"... let me explain. It is a website for a predicted-to-be excellent upcoming movie project with a lead role performance by Nick Stahl (also in the upcoming movie Meskada produced by my friend Jen Gatien). If you don't have my email anymore because the confusing subject line made you decide to delete it, there's a link to my profile on the website you can still sign up and add me as a friend. They're promoting the movie with really cool, unique social networking software. You can make a profile and also upload MP3s and I am sure this also means you will get on their email list for when the film is set for a theatrical release.
Click here for my profile and sign up, invite friends!
You can watch the trailer here:
7. Another independent film to check out which is not yet in theaters... Rider Strong produced and acted in the upcoming science fiction movie "Darkening Sky". I read the plot, loved it, and really recommend this movie highly. Rider is an up-and-coming filmmaker besides being an amazing actor. I went to the New York premiere of his short film "Irish Twins" (which he wrote, produced, acted in and directed with his brother Shiloh) and was really impressed. The brothers are currently working on another short film "Dungeon Master" which will feature Rider's girlfriend, the talented and ever-fabulous Alexandra Barreto in the lead role. Here are the links for "Darkening Sky":
Like the movie on Facebook
Here is the movie website:
http://www.darkeningsky.com
Here is the trailer:
8. Another upcoming movie not yet in theaters, with the lead played by Thomas Dekker, singer/songwriter and also known for his lead in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, is All About Evil. It's a horror movie, and Thomas always makes great movies. For the premiere he performed an original composition, possibly titled "Welcome To The Horror Show" at least that was the chorus.
Check out his musical performance here:
And here is the trailer for the movie...
That's everything I've got for all of you now... enjoy!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Kellan Lutz's ad for People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals
Kellan Lutz, who is one of the leads alongside Nick Stahl in the upcoming movie Meskada, did an advertisement for People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals. Meskada was co-produced by my friend Jen Gatien, who is the daughter of Peter Gatien, the owner of the nightclubs where I got my start in the nightlife and special events businesses, the Limelight, Tunnel and Palladium clubs.
Here is the ad Lutz did for PETA:
...and here is the trailer for Meskada:
Here is the ad Lutz did for PETA:
...and here is the trailer for Meskada:
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Check out this excellent music video...
Elijah Wood and Selma Blair acted in this music video which is styled like a short action film, the recording artist is named Danko Jones and the song is called "Full Of Regret" (Their new album "Below The Belt" is out now on Itunes)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
New Eminem "Recovery" pre-release review
This week I was given an advance promo copy of the new Eminem album "Recovery". The album is a very introspective work, with the bulk of the material focusing on Emimen's recovery from drug addiction, hence the title. The album features a lot of singing, which makes it stand out from most hip hop records. The first single, "Not Afraid" expresses Eminem's sentiment of confidence in his first post-recovery release and in his decision to record an album which features a stong anti-drug message. The album's message is focused on the pain and struggles Eminem faced as he juggled his career with his recuperation from an addition that almost cost him his life. Most of the lyrics throughout the album tell Eminem's personal story as a recovering drug addict, and his feelings about his return to artistic form with his new record.
Among the highlights of the album is the inclusion of guest vocal performances by Liz Rodrigues on two tracks, "25 To Life" and "Almost Famous". Her commanding vocal performances remind me of Kirsty Hawkshaw (a frequent collaborator with Tiesto). "Almost Famous" is by far the most potent track on the entire album. Eminem raps about the way the public's perception of success in the entertainment industry is based on popular illusions about life in the public eye. The song reflects how Eminem's success contributed to his drug addiction which almost killed him. Liz Rodrigues sings the chorus, "You dream of trading places, I have been changing faces, you cannot fill these shoes, there is too much to lose, i wake up behind the trenches, you run around defenseless, there is too much to lose, you cannot fill these shoes, "I just Wanna be famous... but be careful what you wish for". The vocals are delivered in a "warning" tone of voice which is what Eminem is trying to achieve with this track... an attempt at making the public understand the danger of getting "drunk on success" so to speak, spiraling out of control, and the risks involved with doing so... the destruction of one's life or even worse, potential death. This is the most single-worthy tracks on the album thanks to haunting backing music, excellent songwriting, and a powerful performance.
On 25 To Life, Liz Rodriguez's chorus vocal is reminiscent of Kristy Hawkshaw's breakout hit "It's A Fine Day" which was recorded with Opus III. She sings very spiritually and her contribution helps make this one of the most memorable tracks on the album. This is one of the slower songs on the album, though it would work really well at radio. Throughout the song, Liz vamps "Too late...Too late..." as eminem raps about his drug addiction. At the end of the song he goes as far as to close with "Fuck you hip hop... I'm leavin you, my life sentence is served".
Two of the other songs with the best chances of being radio hits are "No Love" and "You're Never Over". "No Love" features a guest rap performance by Lil' Wayne and the song revolves around a vocal and instrumental sample of Haddaway's 1992 Euro-dance/pop hit "What Is Love" helping to make the song catchy and instantly memorable to audiences. "You're Never Over" also has mainstream hit potential thans to a recognizable vocal chorus sample from Gerard Mcmann's 1980's hit song "Cry Little Sister"... which most people will recognize as the theme song to "The Lost Boys", a classic vampire movie with Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and Jami Gertz.
Another of the standout anti-drug tracks is "Talkin 2 Myself" where Eminem directly addresses his audience to speak about his feelings about how his addiction detracted from his artistry, and he issues an apology to those who may have found his last two albums lackluster, "Encore i was high on drugs, relapse I was flushin' em out, Ive come to make it up to you now no more fuckin around, I got something to prove to the fans cause i feel like i let em down, so please accept my apology I finally feel like I'm back to normal". The song features a guest chorus by singer Kobe.
Two additional noteworthy collaborations warranting mention are "Love The Way You Lie" which features Rihanna, and "W.T.P." featuring P!nk. Interestingly, though these two songs feature the most prominent guest performers on the album, they are largely overshadowed by the aforementioned potential hit singles. They are great songs, but possess less radio airplay potential than the songs I've already listed. "W.T.P." stands for "White Trash Party" and the song is a midtempo track with some rock influences. "Love The Way You Lie" is a slow song, and the instrumentation sounds somewhat reminiscent of Rihanna's song "Umbrella".
Overall the album is a courageous anti-drug-addiction message to followers, and a step forward in Eminem's artistic evolution.
Among the highlights of the album is the inclusion of guest vocal performances by Liz Rodrigues on two tracks, "25 To Life" and "Almost Famous". Her commanding vocal performances remind me of Kirsty Hawkshaw (a frequent collaborator with Tiesto). "Almost Famous" is by far the most potent track on the entire album. Eminem raps about the way the public's perception of success in the entertainment industry is based on popular illusions about life in the public eye. The song reflects how Eminem's success contributed to his drug addiction which almost killed him. Liz Rodrigues sings the chorus, "You dream of trading places, I have been changing faces, you cannot fill these shoes, there is too much to lose, i wake up behind the trenches, you run around defenseless, there is too much to lose, you cannot fill these shoes, "I just Wanna be famous... but be careful what you wish for". The vocals are delivered in a "warning" tone of voice which is what Eminem is trying to achieve with this track... an attempt at making the public understand the danger of getting "drunk on success" so to speak, spiraling out of control, and the risks involved with doing so... the destruction of one's life or even worse, potential death. This is the most single-worthy tracks on the album thanks to haunting backing music, excellent songwriting, and a powerful performance.
On 25 To Life, Liz Rodriguez's chorus vocal is reminiscent of Kristy Hawkshaw's breakout hit "It's A Fine Day" which was recorded with Opus III. She sings very spiritually and her contribution helps make this one of the most memorable tracks on the album. This is one of the slower songs on the album, though it would work really well at radio. Throughout the song, Liz vamps "Too late...Too late..." as eminem raps about his drug addiction. At the end of the song he goes as far as to close with "Fuck you hip hop... I'm leavin you, my life sentence is served".
Two of the other songs with the best chances of being radio hits are "No Love" and "You're Never Over". "No Love" features a guest rap performance by Lil' Wayne and the song revolves around a vocal and instrumental sample of Haddaway's 1992 Euro-dance/pop hit "What Is Love" helping to make the song catchy and instantly memorable to audiences. "You're Never Over" also has mainstream hit potential thans to a recognizable vocal chorus sample from Gerard Mcmann's 1980's hit song "Cry Little Sister"... which most people will recognize as the theme song to "The Lost Boys", a classic vampire movie with Corey Haim, Corey Feldman, and Jami Gertz.
Another of the standout anti-drug tracks is "Talkin 2 Myself" where Eminem directly addresses his audience to speak about his feelings about how his addiction detracted from his artistry, and he issues an apology to those who may have found his last two albums lackluster, "Encore i was high on drugs, relapse I was flushin' em out, Ive come to make it up to you now no more fuckin around, I got something to prove to the fans cause i feel like i let em down, so please accept my apology I finally feel like I'm back to normal". The song features a guest chorus by singer Kobe.
Two additional noteworthy collaborations warranting mention are "Love The Way You Lie" which features Rihanna, and "W.T.P." featuring P!nk. Interestingly, though these two songs feature the most prominent guest performers on the album, they are largely overshadowed by the aforementioned potential hit singles. They are great songs, but possess less radio airplay potential than the songs I've already listed. "W.T.P." stands for "White Trash Party" and the song is a midtempo track with some rock influences. "Love The Way You Lie" is a slow song, and the instrumentation sounds somewhat reminiscent of Rihanna's song "Umbrella".
Overall the album is a courageous anti-drug-addiction message to followers, and a step forward in Eminem's artistic evolution.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Brazilian Film Festival, Photo Studio Opening, + reviews of Rihanna remix album + new Josh Ritter & more
I went to a couple cool events this weekend, but before I start on that, I've got to say the highlight of my week was watching Alexandra Barreto (of Pepper Dennis, Tooth & Nail, and the upcoming short film Career Day) make a guest appearance on the FX channel's TV show "Justified" this past Tuesday. She will be a guest on the show again this upcoming Tuesday, January 8th. I was invited to go to a party this coming Tues, but I've decided not to go so I can instead watch this special episode. I would go to the party and download the episode on Itunes the next day, but all the TV episodes now are only in High Definition, and I found out my computer won't play HD videos. I bought Season 10, episode 22 of Law & Order SVU ("Zebras") and the Saturday Night Live episode when January Jones hosted; and neither of these videos would play on my computer because they were in HD. I don't know if it's the amount of memory in my computer, or the fact that I'm running Windows XP. Those of you who can watch HD on your computers can get this past week's episode of "Justified" on Itunes, and this coming Tuesday's episode will also be available on Itunes on Wednesday.
I had a busy weekend attending events this week. Friday the cool place to be in Hoboken was a studio opening party for Sigen Photography. The photographer, Irina Smirnova, showcased her work which was projected onto the wall as techno music blasted from speakers. While there I spoke with an independent film producer Lisa Cataldi, who is currently working on a short film called Thelonious Hands, the film is expected to start shooting in July. There were excellent gourmet cupcakes catered by Tawny Ong, as well as free drinks and custom-wrapped chocolate bars which were wrapped in paper imprinted with a photograph of the NYC skyline and on the back of the wrapping was Irina's website address ( http://www.sigenphotography.com ). After the photo studio opening party I paid a visit to Hoboken's Ninelounge, a classy venue with bottle service and flat screen TV's which was designed by the same designers as NY's Pink Elephant nightclub. Once inside, I pleasantly surprised to find that the manager there was a former manager from Pink Elephant.
Saturday I went to the opening night of the Brazilian Film Festival. I had to be there at 5pm to get my credentials, but there was a reception that began at 5pm in the Inffinito Lounge which is in the same building as Tribeca Cinemas. They had music by a DJ named Leanna, who played upbeat music which sounded Brazilian or Latin at the very least. Upstairs was a small VIP reception where I picked up a complimentary Corona, and there were also free Yuengling beers and Poland Spring bottles. Downstairs in the main reception they gave out free miniature personal pan pizzas. I met with an actress who has a movie in the festival, her name was Rita Cadillac, and I learned a little bit about her. She started out as a dancer on a Brazilian television show and also hosted a popular Brazilian TV show in the 80s. She's considered legendary in Brazil both as an actress and dancer, and her life is the subject matter of the film featured in the festival, "Rita Cadillac, The Lady Of The People" which screens Monday June 7th; and Wednesday June 9th.
The movies I saw Saturday at the opening were "The Well Beloved One" and "Mamonas 4-Ever". "The Well Beloved One" was totally up my alley since it was a comedy about corruption in politics. It was a hilarious movie about a mayor who would do anything to be re-elected and further his career. The movie parodied the way politicians use all sorts of accounting tricks to pay for pet projects for which the funding simply doesn't really exist. This movie is the story of a conservative mayor who gets elected because he promises to build the first local cemetery for a town that never had one before. Since city hall couldn't afford to pay for it, he takes money out of the town's electricity and water budget causing power and water shortages, and still he needs more funds so he shaves money away from the contractor's budget, resulting in a cemetery filled with graves too small to be occupied by a human corpse. Throughout all of this the mayor is having trouble juggling three mistresses, all of whom keep angling to marry him. The mayor spends the entire film at odds with the town's liberal local newspaper which invents false stories of a shark in the water at the local beach to damage the mayor's tourism revenues, hoping the tax shortages will lead to the mayor's downfall. The mayor finishes work on the cemetery only to realize he can't hold a grand opening ceremony unless someone dies, so that the opening of the cemetery features a commemorative burial. It is then that the mayor first prays for his own sick cousin to die, and then later tries to enlist the help of a murderous fugitive, who he goes as far as to hire as chief of police in the hopes that the criminal will kill someone soon. I found this movie to be very entertaining, upbeat, and funny. This movie screens again Wednesday June 9th. The other movie I saw, "Mamonas 4-Ever" was a documentary styled film about a popular Brazlian comedy-rock band called Mamonas Assassins. The movie talked about how the group originally formed, the factors that led them to decide to record comedy rather than conventional pop music, and how their unique brand of comedy won them popularity and commercial success in Brazil.
Now on to music reviews. Rihanna has a new remix album out, "Rated R (Remixed)", a collection of brand new remixes, all of which are by Chew Fu. Chew Fu is also known for remixes of recent hits by Blake Lewis, Lady GaGa, and Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado. The highlight of the album is the remix of "Russian Roulette". Her voice soars on this track, especially in the sensual chorus, "And you can hear my heart beating, oh you can see it through my chest, said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving, know that I must pass this test, so just pull the trigger". Of all the tracks on the album, "Russian Roulette" has the best vocal performance and it's complemented perfectly by Chew Fu's techno rendering, which turns it into a sexy club anthem. There are two more highlights of this album, the Chew Fu Molotov Mix of "Fire Bomb" and Chew Fu Guns In The Air Fix Mix of "G4". These two remixes play back to back actually, and they sound great together. Chew Fu does do a great job of creating remixes that have different rhythghmic paces so that altogether their remixes play well as a full album. "Rude Boy" and "Stupid In Love" were remixed into midtempo versions to provide some cool-down tracks for the album. "Wait Your Turn" is another of the more uptempo remixes on the album and a great song too. The album also has a cool intro-track which is mostly instrumental, "Mad House"; while "Hard" and "Photographs", the last two songs on the album, both sound like the kind of songs DJ's usually play at the end of the night at parties.
Another great dance track that is out now on Itunes is the latest single by Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl - "Your Love's A Drug". It's a mid-tempo techno song with an anthemic chorus, perfect for both radio and clubs. This is a strong follow up to her hit dance track "Somebody To Love" which featured Robin Thicke. With each single release Meester demonstrates her vocal prowess even more. It would be great if they could commercially release some remixes of these singles. So far the only remixes she'of hers are the remixes of "Good Girls Go Bad". 3 are available as bonus tracks to the deluxe version of Cobra Starship's album "Hot Mess", and one remix is available for individual purchase as a single on Itunes. For those of you who haven't heard Cobra Starship, their music is a cross between rock, techno and pop. Their most recent single "Hot Mess" was also remixed and is available as a remix single on Itunes. They also have an awesome song called "Chew Me Up And Spit Me Out" from the soundtrack to Megan Fox's movie "Jennifer's Body".
Now on to rock- Josh Ritter's latest album, "So Runs The World Away" is a phenomenal album. For those unfamiliar with his work, Josh Ritter is a cross between soft rock, folk music, with subtle country influences. He is also known for intellectual, thought provoking lyrics; often his music is heavily influenced by Ritter's liberal political views. The three must-hear highlights of Ritter's latest are "Southern Pacifica", "Long Shadows" and "Lantern". "Lantern" would make a great single, since it stands out as the record's most upbeat and memorable track. "Long Shadows" is also a fairly upbeat song, while "Southern Pacifica" is a ballad. There are a couple of harder edged songs on the album "Rattling Locks" and "The Remnant". "Folk Bloodbath" goes from a slower tempo to a midtempo pace with very dramatic lyrics. Ritter has done a fantastic job of building up a following over the years with minimal support from radio, due to the superb quality of his songwriting and performances. He's released a bunch of live albums which are further testament to the strength of his concerts, all worth checking out if you like his studio work.
I had a busy weekend attending events this week. Friday the cool place to be in Hoboken was a studio opening party for Sigen Photography. The photographer, Irina Smirnova, showcased her work which was projected onto the wall as techno music blasted from speakers. While there I spoke with an independent film producer Lisa Cataldi, who is currently working on a short film called Thelonious Hands, the film is expected to start shooting in July. There were excellent gourmet cupcakes catered by Tawny Ong, as well as free drinks and custom-wrapped chocolate bars which were wrapped in paper imprinted with a photograph of the NYC skyline and on the back of the wrapping was Irina's website address ( http://www.sigenphotography.com ). After the photo studio opening party I paid a visit to Hoboken's Ninelounge, a classy venue with bottle service and flat screen TV's which was designed by the same designers as NY's Pink Elephant nightclub. Once inside, I pleasantly surprised to find that the manager there was a former manager from Pink Elephant.
Saturday I went to the opening night of the Brazilian Film Festival. I had to be there at 5pm to get my credentials, but there was a reception that began at 5pm in the Inffinito Lounge which is in the same building as Tribeca Cinemas. They had music by a DJ named Leanna, who played upbeat music which sounded Brazilian or Latin at the very least. Upstairs was a small VIP reception where I picked up a complimentary Corona, and there were also free Yuengling beers and Poland Spring bottles. Downstairs in the main reception they gave out free miniature personal pan pizzas. I met with an actress who has a movie in the festival, her name was Rita Cadillac, and I learned a little bit about her. She started out as a dancer on a Brazilian television show and also hosted a popular Brazilian TV show in the 80s. She's considered legendary in Brazil both as an actress and dancer, and her life is the subject matter of the film featured in the festival, "Rita Cadillac, The Lady Of The People" which screens Monday June 7th; and Wednesday June 9th.
The movies I saw Saturday at the opening were "The Well Beloved One" and "Mamonas 4-Ever". "The Well Beloved One" was totally up my alley since it was a comedy about corruption in politics. It was a hilarious movie about a mayor who would do anything to be re-elected and further his career. The movie parodied the way politicians use all sorts of accounting tricks to pay for pet projects for which the funding simply doesn't really exist. This movie is the story of a conservative mayor who gets elected because he promises to build the first local cemetery for a town that never had one before. Since city hall couldn't afford to pay for it, he takes money out of the town's electricity and water budget causing power and water shortages, and still he needs more funds so he shaves money away from the contractor's budget, resulting in a cemetery filled with graves too small to be occupied by a human corpse. Throughout all of this the mayor is having trouble juggling three mistresses, all of whom keep angling to marry him. The mayor spends the entire film at odds with the town's liberal local newspaper which invents false stories of a shark in the water at the local beach to damage the mayor's tourism revenues, hoping the tax shortages will lead to the mayor's downfall. The mayor finishes work on the cemetery only to realize he can't hold a grand opening ceremony unless someone dies, so that the opening of the cemetery features a commemorative burial. It is then that the mayor first prays for his own sick cousin to die, and then later tries to enlist the help of a murderous fugitive, who he goes as far as to hire as chief of police in the hopes that the criminal will kill someone soon. I found this movie to be very entertaining, upbeat, and funny. This movie screens again Wednesday June 9th. The other movie I saw, "Mamonas 4-Ever" was a documentary styled film about a popular Brazlian comedy-rock band called Mamonas Assassins. The movie talked about how the group originally formed, the factors that led them to decide to record comedy rather than conventional pop music, and how their unique brand of comedy won them popularity and commercial success in Brazil.
Now on to music reviews. Rihanna has a new remix album out, "Rated R (Remixed)", a collection of brand new remixes, all of which are by Chew Fu. Chew Fu is also known for remixes of recent hits by Blake Lewis, Lady GaGa, and Timbaland featuring Nelly Furtado. The highlight of the album is the remix of "Russian Roulette". Her voice soars on this track, especially in the sensual chorus, "And you can hear my heart beating, oh you can see it through my chest, said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving, know that I must pass this test, so just pull the trigger". Of all the tracks on the album, "Russian Roulette" has the best vocal performance and it's complemented perfectly by Chew Fu's techno rendering, which turns it into a sexy club anthem. There are two more highlights of this album, the Chew Fu Molotov Mix of "Fire Bomb" and Chew Fu Guns In The Air Fix Mix of "G4". These two remixes play back to back actually, and they sound great together. Chew Fu does do a great job of creating remixes that have different rhythghmic paces so that altogether their remixes play well as a full album. "Rude Boy" and "Stupid In Love" were remixed into midtempo versions to provide some cool-down tracks for the album. "Wait Your Turn" is another of the more uptempo remixes on the album and a great song too. The album also has a cool intro-track which is mostly instrumental, "Mad House"; while "Hard" and "Photographs", the last two songs on the album, both sound like the kind of songs DJ's usually play at the end of the night at parties.
Another great dance track that is out now on Itunes is the latest single by Leighton Meester of Gossip Girl - "Your Love's A Drug". It's a mid-tempo techno song with an anthemic chorus, perfect for both radio and clubs. This is a strong follow up to her hit dance track "Somebody To Love" which featured Robin Thicke. With each single release Meester demonstrates her vocal prowess even more. It would be great if they could commercially release some remixes of these singles. So far the only remixes she'of hers are the remixes of "Good Girls Go Bad". 3 are available as bonus tracks to the deluxe version of Cobra Starship's album "Hot Mess", and one remix is available for individual purchase as a single on Itunes. For those of you who haven't heard Cobra Starship, their music is a cross between rock, techno and pop. Their most recent single "Hot Mess" was also remixed and is available as a remix single on Itunes. They also have an awesome song called "Chew Me Up And Spit Me Out" from the soundtrack to Megan Fox's movie "Jennifer's Body".
Now on to rock- Josh Ritter's latest album, "So Runs The World Away" is a phenomenal album. For those unfamiliar with his work, Josh Ritter is a cross between soft rock, folk music, with subtle country influences. He is also known for intellectual, thought provoking lyrics; often his music is heavily influenced by Ritter's liberal political views. The three must-hear highlights of Ritter's latest are "Southern Pacifica", "Long Shadows" and "Lantern". "Lantern" would make a great single, since it stands out as the record's most upbeat and memorable track. "Long Shadows" is also a fairly upbeat song, while "Southern Pacifica" is a ballad. There are a couple of harder edged songs on the album "Rattling Locks" and "The Remnant". "Folk Bloodbath" goes from a slower tempo to a midtempo pace with very dramatic lyrics. Ritter has done a fantastic job of building up a following over the years with minimal support from radio, due to the superb quality of his songwriting and performances. He's released a bunch of live albums which are further testament to the strength of his concerts, all worth checking out if you like his studio work.
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