We know some of you are missing out on the Oscars because of some shady under the table deals with Disney, but this is all the more reason for you to    . For those of you who aren’t fans of football, not really into baseball, or just don’t give a shit about sports in general; there’s the Oscars. And, like the other aforementioned nation wide events, bets are being placed as to who will win what. Now if you know anything about the Academy or the politics they play in Hollywood, you know that the Oscars are mostly bullshit; shiny gold sculptures that dignify the best ass kissing in town. Anyway, that in mind, we have a list of our Oscar predictions. Not based on merit, but based on the sometimes bullshit meter that is played.

Best Original Screenplay:

Nominees -

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Bastards

The Messenger

A Serious Man

Up

Winner: The Messenger

We really hope this wonderful film doesn’t go home empty. We wish Oren and Alessandro the best.

2nd Contender: Inglorious Basterds (Reason? Well… it’s gotta win something.)

Best Adapted Screenplay:

Nominees –

District 9

An Education

In the Loop

Precious

Up in the Air

Winner: Up in the Air

Reason? We’re not even sure why this film is nominated for anything, but the best thing it has going for it is it’s screenplay. Perhaps, the Academy wants to give good ol’ Jason Reitman a pat on the back?

2nd Contender: Precious

Best Direcor

Nominees –

Avatar (James Cameron)

The Hurt Locker (Katheryn Bigelow)

Inglorious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)

Precious (Lee Daniels)

Up in the Air (Jason Reitman)

Winner: James Cameron

Believe it or not, this is a toss up. While Cameron dominated the Globes, Kathryn rocked the DGAs. Both normally set the bar for what can be seen as a unanimous decision as to who will win the Oscar. However, I feel as though this is more a game of politics (as seen by this instance of douchebaggery) than it is a game of merit. Who has more power, as a director right now, than James Cameron?

2nd Contender: Kathryn Bigelow

Best Cinematography

Nominees-

Avatar (Mauro Fiore)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Bruno Delbonnel)

Hurt Locker (Barry Ackroyd)

Inglorious Basterds (Robert Richardson)

The White Ribbon (Christian Berger)

Winner: Inglorious Basterds

If you’ve seen the movie, there should be no question. Perfectly shaped shots and skillfully executed as to emit the emotion of the scene are what give this film the winning edge against it’s peers.

2nd Contender: The White Ribbon

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Nominees -

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)

George Clooney (Up in the Air)

Colin Firth (A Single Man)

Morgan Freeman (Invictus)

Jeremy Renner (Hurt Locker)

Winner: Jeff Bridges

Although, all of the actors in this category did a good job the waves of praise seem to be leaning toward Jeff Bridges. It’s also his fifth time nominated with no wins. This is one of the rare cases where the ‘He finally got one’ Oscars will be well deserved.

2nd Contender: Jeremy Renner

Best Actor in a Supporting Role

Nominees -

Matt Damon (Invictus)

Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)

Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)

Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)

Christopher Waltz (Inglorious Basterds)

Winner: Christopher Waltz

The nest thing about this category is that the supporting roles are often what makes the film. Nothing is more true than in the case than in ‘Inglorious Basterds’. The most redeeming part of that film was watching the mostly foreign ‘for TV’ actor, Christopher Waltz outsmart the protagonists during the funniest scenes in the movie. Or was it the surprisingly nonchalant attitude near the end after an obvious defeat of the Axis Powers near the end.

2nd Contender: Woody Harrelson

Best Actress

Nominees -

Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

Helen Mirren (The Last Station)

Carey Mulligan (An Education)

Gabourney Sibide (Precious)

Meryl Streep (Julia & Julia)

Winner: Sandra Bullock

I mean, it’s the only chance she’ll get. Why not…

2nd Contender: Gabourney Sibide

Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominees -

Penelope Cruz (Nine)

Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)

Maggie Gylenhaal (Crazy Heart)

Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)

Mo’Nique (Precious)

Winner: Mo’Nique

Once again, this guess is based mostly on whispers and crowd favoritism. It’d be a shame if she didn’t win. And it’d piss a lot of people off.

2nd Contender: Vera Farmiga

Best Picture of the Year

Nominees –

Avatar

The Blind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglorious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

Winner: The Hurt Locker

Reason? Because James Cameron said so. I’m pretty sure he’ll actually be upset if he won. Then again

Best Foreign Language Film

Nominees -

Ajami (Israel)

El Secreto se sus Ojos (Argentina)

The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)

Un Prophete (France)

The White Ribbon (Germany)

Winner: Un Prophete

This has been hailed by many as the film of the year. No matter what happens, if you have not had the chance to see this film yet please find a theater playing it near you and check it out.

2nd Contender: The White Ribbon

Ever feel like America is always on the verge of becoming extreme in its restrictions on media? Well, the folks down under decided it’d be a wonderful idea to take R-rated films out of normal theaters and place them will NC-17 and X rated films (although their ratings vary from ours). Although, this isn’t the exact same as us because Australia is a bit less harsh on restrictions and an R-rated film in Australia is likely R for a good reason. Still, this is a case of arsehole conservative biased toward media and something we need to worry about spreading to the states.

(Source: Worstpreviews.com)

The former lead singer of Primus is coming to Philly in one of the most ecclectic tours in the past year or so. the Oddity Faire Tour includes such strange pairings as: Saul Williams, Devotcka, and O’Death (the former and the latter are bleeing the stage this Friday at the Electric Factory). I think I’m almost as excited to see the crowd that shows up as I am to see the artists.

“OF FUNGI AND FOE” is the expansion of material Claypool has recorded over the past few years for the video game “Mushroom Men” and the motion picture “Pig Hunt”. Being inspired by these 2 projects Claypool decided to keep creating and turn it into an album. The song Mushroom Men on this release is a more in depth version of the theme song from the video game. Additionally a jam session with Gogol Bordello’s charismatic front-man Eugene Hutz turned into the track “Bite Out Of Life”. The band is comprised of Les Claypool on bass/vocals, Paulo Baldi on Drums (Cake), Mike Dillon on Percussion (Ani Difranco), and Sam Bass on Cello

My super secret internet spies tell me the answer is: absolutely nothing.

1) Opened an hour late with no extension of the 9-11 drink special
i. Ran out of PBR so there was only Sparks (I wouldn’t have minded)

2) Spank Rock didn’t play because he was sick. (Not really anyone’s fault.)
i. Or, he was in the hospital or something.

3) NASA’s equipment was too powerful for Pure’s electric power system whatever. Sources tell me that they struggled to play through intermittent power outages, and eventually decided to give up.
i. For what it’s worth, NASA apparently apologized.

4) A friend of mine got physically thrown out on the street with a bouncer when she asked to be allowed back in to get her id.
i. They gave it to her when she started crying.

5) No, I wasn’t there. But I’ll probably be there next time.

New question: Is this proof that Friday the 13th is indeed an unlucky bitch of a day?

Ok, so raise your hand if you’re tired of every white kid and their cousin picking up a fucking harmonica and thinking they could be the next folk or blues legend. Well, more than likely there are no hands up because somebody keeps buying these fucking records. There’s no argument in doing so (more music = happier planet), but it’s so hard syphoning through all the bullshit to find the best ones. Well, here is the diamond in your trash bin. elvis Perkins’ debut LP, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, is set to  debut March 10. These guys have gone mostly under the radar for a while and, while my heart tends to be angry over such things, it knows very well that hype zines like Pitchfork and Paste will explode in excitement over being the first ones to hear such a great piece of music. Somehow diffusing the cacophony of shit that usually floods folk bands of the “modern” era, Elvis Perkins gives you exactly what you came for: multi-layered, aurally pleasing, and ultimately very fucking good music. I’m not gonna sit here and attempt to tell you what they sound like: save to say that this is what a lot of other folk bands should sound like. Thank you Elvis Perkins, for setting the bar that much higher.

Chances of you seeing this band on Pitchfork’s top list:

Kriston Bethel, band member of The Natural Result, sets up for his show in the Underground. Photograph by Peter Duong

Who is SSAM? Should I care? They don’t even know how to spell, therefore they are not important, right?

SSAM, Singer-Songwriters and Musicians, is a student-run organization that would like to promote a diverse, creative and collaborative music community on campus. As our constitution states,

The purpose of this organization is to establish a community of students who play, write, or just like music and to promote a positive musical atmosphere around campus. Our goal is to provide students with a medium to showcase their talents. We shall try to promote our members’ music via open mic events, recordings, and other creative means of promotion.

As many Temple students have noticed there are not many outlets to express themselves as artists (majors outside of the Boyer and Tyler schools and non-majors). Temple is full of talent and it’s about time to have a group like ours to help promote students on campus.

Currently, we hold open mic events and are organizing with The Elitist magazine to do concerts. Some of our past events have included collaborations with Temple’s Student Peace Alliance and HEART (Health Education and Advising Resources at Temple) . Our most successful turn-outs have been the Underground and Hillel open mics with attendance rates reaching as high as 180 people on average. We only have been active since the Fall of 2008, which pretty good for a young organization.

This is our first post…Yay? Although, I’m the secretary of SSAM, I’m not much of a writer. However, I will keep you posted on our events and inner workings. Thanks for reading! If you are a Temple student interested in our events please contact us here.

Cheers,

Amber T(ea)

BOTTLE ROCKET (BLU-RAY)
How Sad Your Wallet Will Be: $39.95
Making Hipster Jizz in the Aisles: 12/16/08
Arguably Wes Anderson’s worst film (that’s not saying much compared to his canon), Bottle Rocket is almost a very inward title for the film itself. On one hand, the rocket refers to the launching of three very large (though vastly different and varied) careers. The bottle refers to the beginning of three careers. Watching this film is a lot like watching the foundation being built on a new house or tower. At first, it looks like shit; in fact, there is shit in there. Once you walk away from the initial disgust you come back to discover a gigantic monument to patience and virility. You wish you could go back to that foundation and look again to see how they even did it. Well, Criterion gives it to you with a plethora of special features. Finally, a version worth buying.
Wes Anderson first illustrated his lovingly detailed, slightly surreal cinematic vision in this witty and warm portrait of three young middle-class misfits. Fresh out of a mental hospital, gentle Anthony (Luke Wilson) finds himself once again embroiled in the machinations of his best friend, elaborate schemer Dignan (Owen Wilson). With the aid of getaway driver Bob (Robert Musgrave), they develop a needlessly complex, mildly successful plan to rob a small bookstore—then go “on the lam.” Also featuring Lumi Cavazos as Inez, the South American housekeeper Anthony falls in love with, and James Caan as local thief extraordinaire Mr. Henry, Bottle Rocket is a charming, hilarious, affectionate look at the folly of dreamers. Shot against radiant southwestern backdrops, it’s the film that put Anderson and the Wilson brothers on the map.
Info
_ Directed by Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou)
_ Starring Owen Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Armageddon, Wedding Crashers)
_ Starring Luke Wilson (The Royal Tenenbaums, Legally Blonde, 3:10 to Yuma)
_ Cinematography by Robert Yeoman (Drugstore Cowboy, Rushmore, The Squid and the Whale)
DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
_ New, restored high-definition digital transfer supervised and approved by director Wes Anderson and director of photography Robert Yeoman
_ Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Blu-ray)
_ Commentary by director/co-writer Anderson and co-writer/star Owen Wilson
_ The Making of “Bottle Rocket”: an original documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman featuring Anderson, James L. Brooks, James Caan, Temple Nash Jr., Kumar Pallana, Polly Platt, Mark Mothersbaugh, Robert Musgrave, Richard Sakai, David and Sandy Wasco, Andrew and Luke and Owen Wilson, and Robert Yeoman
_ The original thirteen-minute black-and-white Bottle Rocket short film from 1992
_ Eleven deleted scenes
_ Anamorphic screen test, storyboards, location photos, and behind-the-scenes photographs by Laura Wilson
_ Murita Cycles, a 1978 short film by Braverman
_ The Shafrazi Lectures, no. 1: Bottle Rocket
_ PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by executive producer James L. Brooks, an appreciation by Martin Scorsese, and original artwork by Ian Dingman

TITLE: CHUNGKING EXPRESS (BLU-RAY)
CHUNGKING EXPRESS
If you’ve attended any sort of film school, you’ve likely seen this film at least once (or 15 times). Wong Kar Wai’s visionary masterpiece only further solidifies him as someone that truly believes in the artistic condition of the filmmaker (basically, that film does not have to be art to be artistic. One must take care in their vision as if it were being painted on a living canvas.)
The whiplash, double-pronged Chungking Express is one of the defining works of nineties cinema and the film that made Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar-wai an instant icon. Two heartsick Hong Kong cops (Takeshi Kaneshiro and Tony Leung), both jilted by ex-lovers, cross paths at the Midnight Express take-out restaurant stand, where the ethereal pixie waitress Faye (Faye Wong) works.  Anything goes in Wong’s gloriously shot and utterly unexpected charmer, which cemented the sex appeal of its gorgeous stars and forever turned canned pineapple and the Mamas and the Papas’ “California Dreamin’” into tokens of romantic longing.

Info
_ Directed by Wong Kar-wai (Ashes of Time, In the Mood for Love, 2046)
_ Starring Tony Leung (Infernal Affairs, In the Mood for Love, Lust Caution)
_ Starring Takeshi Kaneshiro (Fallen Angels, House of Flying Daggers)

SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
_ New, restored high-definition digital transfer
_ Remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack supervised by director
Wong Kar-wai (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 on Blu-ray)
_ Audio commentary by noted Asian cinema critic Tony Rayns
_ U.S. theatrical trailer
_ New and improved English subtitle translation
_ PLUS: A booklet featuring a new essay by critic Amy Taubin and excerpts from a 1996 Sight and Sound interview with Wong by Rayns
_ More!

How Sad Your Wallet Will Be: -$39.95
Intimidating Amateur Filmmakers: 12/16/08