Archive for the 'Film' Category

Freakin’ Weekend: 5.15-5.17

Published by todd on May 15, 2008 in Weekend, Film and Concert. 0 Comments

nullLast week’s post was all about Mother’s Day, so hopefully you found it in your heart to do something nice for your mom, or some mom somewhere. But in the “how did I miss this?” department, I stumbled upon this story while watching the Celtics-Cavs playoff Game 5 this evening: apparently Monday night during Game 4, LeBron James absorbed a hard foul which drew his mother, seated courtside, to her feet. As she approached the court, LeBron apparently then instructed her to, “Sit your ass down!” To get the real dirt, and a more educated opinion than mine (I couldn’t watch Game 4 due to a meeting I was attending), you’ll have to consult espn.com columnist Jemele Hill’s take on the situation here. But seriously, is that not amazing? Clearly LeBron felt he was heading for a chamber of fear if his masculinity was questioned on national TV by his mom coming to his defense. But can you blame her? I mean, after all, she was a witness. As a write this, the Celtics go on to win tonight. Expect more basketball related “commentary” and bad puns in the coming weeks as the NBA playoffs heat up.

THURSDAY
Seven Samurai + Finishing the Game / Bijou Theatre / 6pm + 10pm / $5
The Bijou’s spring film series comes to a close this weekend, so for those of you that have missed out (myself included!), this weekend represents a final chance to catch some alt.films before they take a summer break. On this night you’ve got a classic and a modern parody: the evening begins with Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 classic Seven Samurai, in which a band of wandering ronin come to the aide of a threatened village. The late showing is last year’s Finishing the Game, which imagines a film starring Bruce Lee. The catch is that only a few scenes into the movie, Mr. Lee passes away. He is replaced and the end result is this at times hilarious and definitely thought-provoking genre parody. Of course we don’t expect you to see them both, but props if you do.

FRIDAY
Mose Giganticus w. The Emotron, Bear Weather, Skogliv, Dr. Fantasia vs. Slownite / Hall Mall / 9pm
Slanty Shanty Records proudly presents the record release show of Philadelphia’s Mose Giganticus, who are in the midst of a tour with their hometown bros the Emotron that will eventually lead them to Alaska. Some sick locals join them: Bear Weather, also of Slanty Shanty, Skogliv, which is some solo work by Adam Luksevitch of Foul Tip/The Tanks, and Dr. Fantasia vs. Slownite. I’m not even sure what that means. As always, BYOB.

SATURDAY
Bad Veins / Huckleberry’s Pizza Parlor, Rock Island / 7pm / $5
Once again, the rad folks at Daytrotter deliver, this time with a Saturday night gig featuring Cincinnati indie pop duo Bad Veins. The DT site promises an opener “TBA,” but keep in mind that these shows at Huckleberry’s Pizza start early and end early. As always, you know the drill: head down for some dinner and some tunes, be back in time to enjoy your Saturday night Iowa City style. It’s a foolproof plan.

Hollywood Officially Out of Horror Movies to Remake

Published by tanner on April 10, 2008 in Film and WTF?. 1 Comment

Prom Night

Being Mission Freak’s resident horror movie guru (sorry Dre), it’s been hard to hold this back - but hey, it’s been weeks since I ranted about something! With tomorrow’s release of new destined-to-suck “Prom Night” remake, I think Hollywood has hit the wall. Is nothing sacred? Must we bastardize every classic? The answer from Tinseltown is YE$$$$$$$$$! I suppose after remakes “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Halloween”, I shouldn’t be surprised - and I’m not…I’m just pissed off a little bit! At least they haven’t touched “Susperia” - Wait, the rumor is that it’s in production. Dammit! The good news is now that there’s nothing left to remake from the 70’s and 80’s, writers might have to start coming up with original ideas again. I’m just glad they haven’t gone after the scariest movie ever…..sonofabitch

Somebody let me know when “Candyman” goes into production. Oh, and if Tony Todd isn’t starring, put me out of my misery.

CURSIVE, DAN DEACON, and more at Mission Creek Fest 2008!

Published by andre on January 7, 2008 in Film, Festival '08, Literature, Tour Dates, New Music and Concert. 4 Comments

DeaconYep, it’s time to think about Iowa City’s very own Mission Creek Festival. For the uninitiated, Mission Creek is a four-day arts explosion (produced by us) that takes over downtown Iowa City with concerts, readings, and film screenings. This year’s dates are Wednesday, April 2nd - Saturday, April 5th. We’re still in the process of programming but we got so excited we wanted to share some early confirmations!

CURSIVE will headline the festival on Friday, April 4th, bringing their beautiful and noisy indie rock to the wooden walls of the Mill. These Saddle Creek veterans are undeniable Midwest rock n’ roll heroes and we can’t wait for them to tear it up.

DAN DEACON will headline the festival on Saturday, April 5th at the Picador. Everyone who saw DEACON open for Girl Talk last October knows that he stole the show with a performance that was nothing short of religious. Dan, you bring on the beats, the skull, and the crystal cat. We’ll bring our dancing shoes and buckets of sweat. This will be a great party.

And for all of you literary folks — this is, after all, the “writers’ town” — renowned fiction writer BEN MARCUS is this year’s keynote writer. Author of the daring The Age of Wire and String and head honcho of Columbia University’s MFA program in creative writing, MARCUS will read on the afternoon of April 5th at the Mill.

There is so much more we want to tell you but trust me, we’re working really, really hard on making this the best Mission Creek Festival yet… more updates soon!!!

Freakin’ Weekend: 11.29-12.01

Published by todd on November 29, 2007 in Weekend, Film and Concert. 1 Comment

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Ah, December. ‘Tis the season of consumerism, mistletoe, and Year End Recaps. You might even say it’s a listy time of season: Christmas lists, Best Of Lists, and possibly even New Years Resolution lists, for those who are ahead of the game. The first snow has already dropped here in Iowa City, so what better way to ease you into the last month of the year than a little list of our own? Your Freakin’ Weekend, a list of things for you to do when you aren’t sippin’ on egg nog this weekend.

Thursday
The Tanks, Cave, Bongrider, Krickets / 8pm - The Hall Mall - $5 tops
Local badasses The Tanks rock a rare show at the Hall Mall alongside Chicago neu-psych noise rockers Cave (members of Warhammer 48k). Iowa City’s Bongrider and Krickets join ‘em for an evening of pounding your ears.

Friday
Mason Jennings / The Englert Theatre - 8pm - $20
Minnesota based, Isaac Brock approved songwriter comes to Iowa City for a one-off performance. Read what we had to say earlier this week.

Saturday
Mala Noche / Bijou Theater - 7pm - $5
Gus Van Sant may have struck gold with Good Will Hunting in 1997, but he’s an acclaimed director for his less mainstream releases as well. Between Elephant, Drugstore Cowboy, and My Own Private Idaho, Mr. Van Sant has a history of being a cutting edge American filmmaker. His first full-length feature, Mala Noche, is being screened at Iowa City’s independent Bijou Theater this weekend. From the Bijou website:
“Stuck in a dead-end job in Portland’s skid row, convenience store clerk Walt becomes infatuated with Johnny, a Mexican teenager, who returns Walt’s affection–to a point. Though Walt turns to Johnny’s friend, Pepper, he soon finds himself unable to throw off the shackles of his first, unrequited love.”
But we had you at Good Will Hunting, no?