“There’ll always be something new. It’s like whack-a-mole.”
– Leigh Whannell
I first met Leigh Whannell as the writer and costar of Saw. I thought it was a really cool indie movie that came out of nowhere. It had a mind-blowing surprise at the end and a theme that really spoke to me. When Whannell wrote two sequels in two years, I really got into depth with him on Jigsaw’s morality. Seven Saws later, and Whannell has written another script for his directing buddy James Wan .
Insidious again deals with themes that are bigger than the immediate story. In the film, parents Josh (Patrick Wilson) and Renai (Rose Byrne) find their homes (that’s plural) haunted by spirits. So it’s a ghost story.
Details are starting to emerge on the follow up to 2009’s J.J. Abrams-directed Star Trek reboot. Screenwriter Robert Orci recently took some time at WonderCon to talk about what direction the franchise will likely boldly go, while promoting his upcoming movie Cowboys vs. Aliens.
Imani Coppola is less concerned with writing a hit single and more concerned with, as she puts it, creating music that feels like having a line of coke blown up your ass. This ballsy, Brooklyn-based beauty coolly disregards designer-imposter pop stars who claim to push boundaries, when in truth, the only boundary they’re testing is our ability to stomach any more empty calorie pop songs.
However, Coppola is no stranger to the major label machine. The 29-year-old singer and multi-instrumentalist signed with Columbia Records during her freshman year in college, churned out a hit MTV single “Legend of a Cowgirl” off her 1997 album Chupacabra, and was then dropped – sadly, an all too familiar story for new talent these days. But that was then, and this is now.
Last week in my post about Wall Street Kid, I mentioned that Sturgeon’s Law might be especially true for video games. Coined by the sci-fi author Theodore Sturgeon in 1951, Sturgeon’s Law posits that “90% of everything is crap.” Those being the odds and this being only my second Random Game of the Week, I was relieved to find that I enjoyed this week’s game: Mr. Heli no Daisuke, or Mr. Heli’s Great Adventure for the NEC PC Engine, also known as the Turbografx-16 in North America.
“It’s rare that you see the daughter killing the mother.”
– Joe Wright
Hanna is the first action movie from director Joe Wright, whose previous credits include Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, and The Soloist.
The film stars Saoirse Ronan (The Lovely Bones) in the title role of a teenage assassin, who was raised in isolation and given a military-style training by her mysterious ex-CIA father Erik (Eric Bana). When she re-enters society at 16, secret agents, led by Marissa (Cate Blanchett), come looking for her, and a thrilling cat and mouse chase of sorts ensues. On the road, Hanna meets a traveling family and befriends their daughter Sophie (Jessica Barden). With their help, while in pursuit of her mission, Hanna finds a conscience and comes to question her very being.
This Sunday (April 10th) our very special in-studio guests will be Dublin rock band Lluther, who are currently on tour in the US, and SoCal punk rock hip-hoppers the Kottonmouth Kings, who are preparing to release their “Legalize It” EP to coincide with the annual 4/20 holiday.
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