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Thanks to Bekah, Entourage has been my favourite TV show since the first season. The last couple seasons were cool but not quite as dope as the earlier ones, so here's hoping the fellas come back with some heat this time around.
Check out the above trailer for season 7. Kinda corny but it still gets me vibed for it. Boom!
Social media enthusiasts may well be familiar with www.MissCoca.com, a relatively new marketing, fashion, pop culture, lifestyle, beauty and social media blog that is really making some waves on the interwebs.
So Lauren Ridgway, the founder of www.MissCoca.com, kindly contacted me to make me the May interviewee for 'Stars in the Blogosphere', which was the first interview I'd ever done that wasn't exclusively about music; it was more Craig than Cee. And it was really refreshing, and fun, to put more of me out there than my music persona.
So check out the interview, and while you're there, take a squizz around the blog. Folks in Melbourne and Sydney will love the weekly JobOps post, which is getting crazy hits.
On behalf of TheMovementFam.com, and of course myself, I'd like to warmly thank Lauren for the great interview and kind words. Check it out, folks!
The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
The point of no return. Once past, nothing can fit the image/idea/sense of what it used to be any longer. At this point that I read this book. Batman was represented by Adam West, zany plotlines and BAM, POW and BANG!!! flashing on the on the screen during the fight scenes. Before that, It was the Super friends adventures and stuff like that. Batman was a “Good guy” in every sense of the word. I had seen the Tim Burton take on batman before but even the darkness there wasn’t enough to erase the image in my mind of who Batman was. When I turned 11 years old and I came across a copy of this in the local Giant store, I bought and read it. That was the moment I first experienced what a mind fuck was. Nah Nobody had even explained the concept to me at that point I just knew that something in my mind had been altered by this book, never to return to it’s original shape.
Frank Miller ( God bless him ) had deconstructed the Batman mythology so intensely in this book that over 20 years after it’s inception it still informs much of the versions of Batman seen today. ( Including the aforementioned Tim Burton movie ) This was the book that turned Batman into the grim, brooding hero he is today. Matter fact I would say that the wave of grimy superheroes from “Spawn” to the new volumes of “X force” owe their dark overtones to this book. Batman as a character has always been as crazy as the people he hunts. ( Picture CNN running a story about a real life millionaire that dresses up as a giant bat to beat up thugs. Seriously, picture what you would think of such a man if he was flesh and blood like you and me ) This book really showed how tragic, dark and ( most of all ) INSANE he really was. It also crowned the Joker as the Yin to Batman’s Yang. A relationship that showed that despite their Polar opposition of each other they were linked as one.
The artwork is stunning and the cinematic aspects of the drawings make you believe that you are watching a movie that you were not supposed to watch as a kid. The violence and sexual innuendos were intense but not gratuitous. Anything lighter would have lessened the impact of the book. But like I said it is INTENSE. Children get killed, eyes get stabbed, suicide and battered women all pop up in the story.
The plot itself is simple. Batman has a midlife crisis and after 10 years of retirement comes to show a new generation of scum that certain things don’t change. Simple right. Now add in the craziness of Batman’s world and what this turns into is a masterpiece of emotions. He faces off against Two Face, The Joker, The Mutants ( Gotham City’s newest generation of degenerates ) and crazily enough Superman. His gritty disposition is enhanced by the fact he is a much older man. Cranky, irritable but still a viciously skilled fighter and peerless strategist. Alfred is present but Robin is re imagined as a girl named Carrie. Which gives the story a cool twist. It doesn’t take away or enhance the plot as Robin has always been a sidekick but it’s just kinda cool that Frank took that turn.
I cant recommend this book enough. A must read for Batman fans. The line that a cop in the story says to his younger partner when Batman is about to be seen in full costume by the reader for the first time sums it all up “were in for a show kid”
Tokyo Cigar
Y'all might have caught our recent post on the new doco on Banksy (and street art in general), 'Exit Through The Gift Shop', and now for some Banksy news closer to home...
Dude has agreed to paint the cover of the next issue of Time Out magazine, but this time it's the Sydney (Australian) edition. The last two he's done for Time Out were for London and New York (below), so it's a fairly big deal, especially seeing how reclusive he is. Apparently the file has been sent but the mag haven't released it as yet.
Check out the vids below of some recent exhibitions he held in London. Definitely need this type of action out here.
Wow. This is some cool ass shit. It's apparently a new sport called Liquid Mountaineering, which is essentially utilising the angle of your feet to, well, walk on water. Just watch the video, very damn impressive.
Last night, one of my childhood dreams came true: I got to see Slash live. Ever since my folks got me a guitar at the age of 9, Slash has been my idol. The dude just fucking drips cool (or 'swag' as we rappers like to say), and even though I would have loved to catch him 20 years ago, in 2010, dude hasn't lost his appeal.
So due to my wicked ass job and dope connect at MTV, I scored a VIP ticket to the launch of the new MTV Classic channel at Palace last night. As soon as we walked in the door, we realised it was sponsored by Jagermeister and shots/bombs were downed immediately. The rest of the night was a tad blurry from then on, but I have enough video on my camera to help jog my memory.
As the Becks and Jager did their thing in my bloodstream, and to the bloodstream of my work colleagues, the vibe was incredible. There were shaggy wigs and top hats everywhere, as well as the ubiquitous flannel (I was reppin', trust). When comedian Adam Hills intro'd the night, the crowd got wild. And when Slash hit the stage, it was like 1992 again. I swear, that Gibson guitar is the sexiest fucking thing on earth.
And Slash didn't disappoint. Being drunk and asking a colleague's boyfriend 'Oi what song is this again?' every 5 minutes, I don't really remember the set but I know that the Velvet Revolver lineup was there, and I was told it was Scott Weiland on vocals but then I read he left in 2008. Can anyone help (check out the pics)? He murked it though. After doing a shitload of songs I didn't know, Slash was killin' a solo and all of a sudden the unmistakable melody from 'Sweet Child O' Mine' was belted out and it was fucking ON.
A lot of drunken singing was going on, and the awesomeness was tangible. Next up was 'Paradise City', which was just as rad. I have no idea what happened after that, really.
Shouts to CJ for the hook up! The after party was live though, got to shake hands with Kirk Pengilly from INXS in the bathroom and prop him for shagging Deni Hines, which was cool. A great night all round, the only issue being this wicked hangover and the 3 hours sleep prior to a 9 hour work day. Slash is a god.
This one looks amazing. Most folks are familiar with Banksy's work, and this doco should hopefully shed a bit of light on the man. Check the wrap up below:
"Exit Through the Gift Shop, the first film by renowned graffiti artist Banksy, became the hottest ticket at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival where it made its world debut. Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post—hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner with spectacular results. The film contains exclusive footage of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Invader and many of the worlds most infamous graffiti artists at work, on walls and in interview. As Banksy describes it, Its basically the story of how one man set out to film the un—filmable. And failed."
Part 2
Immaculate beauty. That is what one scene in this movie captures unlike any other attempt before or after it in my memory.
I’ll get to that moment when I get to it. Like I said in my last review, Quentin Tarantino skillfully crafted an intricate simple movie. Linked by strands of old cinema and guerilla style edge, he touched upon a million classic Kung fu references mixed with anime styled excess. In this part of the movie the eastern influences play a more background role to the western themed final showdown between the Bride and Bill. The Bride still has her Hanzo sword but rather than get the feeling you got when you KNEW Bruce Lee was about to give 20 dudes a beat down, it feels more like Eastwood about to face an enemy at high noon.
The switch in themes is not the only opposite to the first film at play here. The simplistic dialog that gave the first one it’s playful charm is replaced with dialogue that proves why Tarantino is as respected as he is. Pulp Fiction’s “Royale with cheese” exchanged is topped by Bill’s fantastic deconstruction of the classic Superman character’s egotistical view of humanity. ( I swear I never looked at Superman the same way again, What an asshole ) The only place for the type of old school Kung Fu flick talk prevalent in the first part is during The Bride’s training with Pai Mei ( that’s my dude right there. Son don’t play ) and that is mainly done in Chinese with subtitles. This is a movie where insight into the characters is really shown by what they say. Often funny but very deep in certain parts. Seriously there are so many quotable in this movie it’s not even funny.
The tradition of compelling characters is still intact in this movie. From Bill’s surrogate father Esteban, Bill’s brother Budd and Elle ( who to me was the ultimate villain in the movie ) to the random characters that pop in and out. ( Budd’s strip club boss that said he was as useless as an asshole on the elbow was funny as hell ) Out of all of them though, the ultimate addition to the cast is Bill. ( RIP David Carradine ) You know those bad guys that are so cool you actually don’t want to see them die. That’s Bill. Dude is just so damn down to earth it doesn’t make sense. The fact that the daughter he raised requested her bedtime movie be “Shogun Assassin” ( trust me Wu tang fans were foaming at the mouth when the “Liquid Swords” intro started playing ) is a testament to his quirky but seasoned and wise killer vibe. After you saw what he did to the Bride you still expect him to get what’s coming to him but a part of you is like “damn. I wish they could work it out somehow” cause dude brings such a fly element to the movie. Rather than see him as just a cold blooded killer ( Like Elle ) you see him as a father and a man that was hurt by a woman he loved. But don’t get it twisted, he still always let’s you know what he’s capable of.
Now. On to the whole immaculate beauty thing. I gotta keep it real with y’all. I saw this movie on bootleg for the first time. My man hit me off with the DVD and I rocked it out for like 2 weeks straight. Seriously I would literally play this movie everyday. When it ended I would start over. For 2 weeks straight. The reason I bring this up is because there was one scene I kept on rewinding like a dope Big pun verse. It was the part where the Bride was walking through the desert on her way to kill Bud. As the song “sunny road to Selina” ( Check my remix of “My 1st song” on my Jay-Z remix album to see how much I love this song ) played in the background the image mixed with the music just hypnotized me unlike any other movie ever did. Seriously, this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I rewound that part a million times just staring at the screen and listening to the music. It’s not a major part in the plot at all but IT JUST WORKS. Any other song in that place would not have had the same effect. The music was as important to the scene as the image was and they combined to make immaculate beauty. This movie is full of things like that. Moments that hit you in the heart more than the funny bone. You saw the Bride cut through the Crazy 88’s in the first one. Here you see her train to get that good. Pai Mei is no picnic so when you see her earn his respect you feel for her even more. Even though this movie is the end piece to the saga in many ways it’s a prequel as you get to really see the inner workings of the characters you caught glimpses of in the first one and fully realize the dynamics of the Brides world.
That’s why “Kill Bill” as a whole is my favorite movie of all time. All the references come together flawlessly and the execution is blessed with that special coat of divinity that mark’s all true artistic genius. Hate it or love it, I don’t really care. To me “Kill Bill” is a masterpiece on all levels and solidified more than ever Tarantino’s place in cinematic history.
Peace
KILL BILL VOL.1 & 2
Part 1
Kill Bill Vol. 1
Remember the first time you really bumped your head hard on something? A cupboard, the floor, somebody else’s head, whatever. Remember the slight feeling of being dazed that hit you as your brain tried to soak in all that just happened. That is what the end of this movie left me like.
Quentin Tarantino solidified his spot in cinematic history way before he made this. But yo, this to me was his Livin Proof/Only built 4 Cuban Linx. This was literally ALL the shit a lot of people grew up on compressed into one movie. ( it starts with a Klingon proverb for Pete’s sake ) Simple in plot ( and brilliantly so in dialogue as well ); incredible in execution. I once saw a flick where I literally did not give a shit about the main character or anyone in the movie. That was never the case with this movie. From “The bride” ( as Uma Thurman’s character is referred to since here name is bleeped out anytime anyone mentions it ) to Nikki Bell ( Vivica Fox’s character Vernita Green’s daughter ) the movie is packed with people that stay with you even if they only appear on screen for a short time. Hell, people still speculate that Nikki will grow up and hunt down the Bride for killing her mother in a Kill Bill sequel.
The movie ( for the five people who didn’t see it ) is about Uma playing an assassin who wants to leave the life behind when she get’s pregnant. She gets betrayed by her former crew and wakes up after a bullet induced coma to seek revenge. Like I said, simple in plot. The execution is where it gets crazy. I think the references are where it really shines. Everything from the fact we never see “Bill” ( R.I.P. to the homie David Carradine who played the part remarkably ) to the fact “the bride" has many unknown things about her even though she is the protagonist gives the movie a very 70’s action drama feel. Everything from zooming into the eyes when she's about to fight, to the deadly viper name flashes on screen give it enough humor to offset how dark the movie actually is. Parents are murdered in front of their children, people get shot up in Church and the INFAMOUS tea house scene let you know this is some seriously ill blood and guts shit going on.
While the story and Dialogue are purposefully simple in homage to the olden days action/Martial arts features that inform a lot of this movie. The acting, pacing and references is where the true power comes through. Uma really makes you feel for her. When she kills Vernita you may not fully realize her quest yet but by the time she kills Buck ( yeah you know Buck ) you already start rooting for her. The randomness of certain things like the Yakuza argument where dude flips out then start's fanning himself keeps you laughing and the black and white parts, the animated origin of Oren Ishi and such spark memories of that classic movie/anime you know you saw a while back but cant recall in detail.
Another demographic this film will appeal to is the beat making crowd. Brilliantly scored by The Rza ( if you don’t know who that is KILL YOUR DAMN SELF ) the movie is jam packed with ill music that had producers running from the theater to MPC to flip something. From Nancy Sinatra’s “Bang, bang”, to the raw theme song used for the Crazy 88’s entrance to the tea house, to the Zamfir song that had all Killarmy fan’s yelling “Yooooooo that’s the joint 4th disciple flipped”. The music was such a classic element to the movie that the songs still turn up today in commercials.
Intense, funny, graphic, this movie is what good cinema is about to me. I saw it in the movies 4 times and I still watch it on DVD. Totally engrossing. This ain't the sort of flick you have on in the back ground. Like the aforementioned Group Home and Raekwon albums, you have to fully pay attention to what is going on to realize that this is one of the dopest pieces of art ever. Some may not be able to stomach the gore but if they close their eyes for those parts and watch the rest, I think even they could not deny that Tarrintino knocked another one out the park with this movie.
Peace
A kindly thank you goes out to the homie Chainz from Sinergy Crew for this amazing video. I usually find this shit mildly funny and had it on in the background while I was doing other stuff, and I cracked the fuck up. Too awesome for words.
By the way, just saw comedian Jamie Kilstein again tonight. Dude is now my favourite comedian, please go see his show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
So last night I saw what was arguably the funniest and intelligent comedy show I've ever seen, courtesy of Jamie Kilstein. Being a left-leaning, liberal kind of bloke, everything Jamie said permeated with my beliefs, hence my extreme bias to the amazingness of his show.
Anyway, one of the highlights was the Christian Side Hug. I found a video (below) on YouTube that breaks it down for y'all. I have no words. I'm a staunch athiest and very anti-organised religion, but this is out of control. There are seemingly no bounds to the insanity of the Christian church. Just watch.
So y'all might have gathered by now that most of us here at The Movement Fam are fans of shit like this.
I won't even go into it, but this excerpt is from The Atheist Experience talkshow. Take a listen and have a laugh.
OK, been a minute I since posted and thought this was well overdue. I'm aware I've been lagging on my blog posts. It's something I hope to correct.
So lately I've been catching up on a whole bunch of shit that I've downloaded but never watched and over the next few posts I just wanna touch on something (no homo).
Firstly the latest offering from serial pest as he's is often known, Mr Michael Moore. His new movie Capitalism, and all I can say is Wow, if you haven't watched it-download it. He wont care, in fact I'm pretty sure he's into it (no homo again).
OK so the premise of the film takes the viewer through the rise of the great concept of capitalism, they talk about freedom of choice, free market economies, consumerism, and of course greed and the insatiable appetite that it creates.
Now I should mention that in this movie/documentary that the focus is mainly North America but the same formula could be applied to any modern western economic situation, after all we are capitalists right?
No I'm not going to quote slabs of Karl Marx and the communist manifesto. I like capitalism - well at least some of the concept of it I think. What really incites me is the nonsensical greed that blinds us all, to constantly create must haves and needs out of desires and wants - they are polar opposites.
I digress, however the movie takes us through the sub prime mortgage crises, shows us how this came to be... again greed masked as capitalism, google it if you don't believe me!
Life insurances policies taken out by companies for employees that the worker and their family have no knowledge of, except if they die. Then, the company stands to make a HUGE payout. In Australia we do they same thing- it's something called (traded policies) - it can be bought by you and I.
It's basically like trading a security; you buy someones life policy from them at a premium and when they die you get big money! Many, many, many life insurance companies, when changing a customers policy, will offer to purchase their old policy as part of a rebate for the new life policy or give them cash. They (the life company) never pay the premium on the new policy they acquire and when the person dies the insurance company gets a payout. Subract that from the years of non-payment of premium, channel it through some very effective taxation strategy and BOOM...they are all living in the Wu Tang! 
C.R.E.A.M. Gnomesayin?.
It's all legal, albeit somewhat macabre and very immoral which then brings me to my next point.
Where does it say that being good at business means you should be a good person? In fact, if you look at every motivating aspect to move a companies profit line further, it almost always will fall into a moral grey area.
So should we question the virtues of capitalism?
I want to have my cake and eat it too!
I want to have a different job than my neighbour or choose to wear different coloured shoes or a shirt, should we rewrite the book to include some form of socialism into what we now embody as modern day capitalism?
I don't have all the answers but I do know we need to ask questions to those who should, also question the motives of those who seek to undermine the disadvantaged to turn a company profit. I mean, what ever happened to corporate social responsibility? Free trade coffee beans and no blood diamonds...
Do we really know what capitalism is or has it deteriorated into a depraved form of greed that we are so blinded by that we can't call it as we see it?
Thanks for tuning into another rant... 'till next time.
I love this dude (pause). Always insightful, always clever, always a point. I ain't even wanna say too much - listen, watch and learn.
Dude is a genius. If you haven't seen his other videos, get to YouTubin'.
At the risk of this becoming a movie blog, I'm gonna start posting more trailers coz now I have a 9 to 5 in the movie biz, I'm uppin' my game. This looks fucking hilarious. No word on an Oz release yet, will keep y'all posted.
I have no words...
Seriously, just watch.
