This Wednesday, July 15th, something I’ve been waiting a very long time for is going to happen. The Secret Of Monkey Island: Special Edition will be released for download on Xbox Live Arcade and PC.
To those who didn’t play it when it originally came out years ago, it is an old school point-and-click adventure game. It may not have all the bells and whistles of a new HD console or PC game, but what it lacks in flashiness, it makes up for with its awesomely funny dialogue, great characters, and a truly fun-as-hell experience – and it was the first game I think I played that Tim Schafer worked on (Brutal Legend comes out soon!!). Check the trailer, and download it on Wednesday.
With Hollywood’s current shifting towards 3D films, I’ve taken a real interest in something that moves alongside this: ticket prices. It’s bad enough that I have to pay between 12 and 13 dollars when I want to catch a flick with friends after work in New York City – but when you want to go see something in 3d, the price jumps up from there. With nights out at the cinema reaching ridiculous prices, it’s easy to feel like you’re just not getting your money’s worth. This is why you simply have to pick the correct overly expensive movie ticket to buy.
For around $16 a ticket, I can go see a “3D IMAX Experience!” movie at the Lincoln Center IMAX on 68th street. The screen is enormous, the sound system is awesome – if it’s the right movie it’s well worth the money. But how do you know it’s the right movie? Well, reading the book first helps.
When it released, I hopped the 1 train up to the IMAX theater to see the 5th Harry Potter movie. How did I know that it would be well worth the admission? Because I’d read the book, and knew that there was an incredible spectacle of an action sequence in the 3rd act that would not just be something to watch, but more something to experience.
Well, it’s almost time once again, my friends, for the show that is far from ending (as the final book 7 is being broken into 2 movies). This week, the 6th Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, is released, and you can expect some incredible action and some awesome sights and fights to behold this time around. If you’ve got an IMAX theater near you, I highly recommend dropping the extra loot for it – it’s going to be quite the experience when [EDITOR’S NOTE: The end of this post has been removed for spoilers of the worst kind. Though, you really should have read the books by now. Seriously, you’ve got no excuses.]
Music Hall of Williamsburg is a rather small venue for a band like Brand New, and as our very own Mitch will tell you it sold out in minutes. There was a 2 ticket limit and a will call only policy on the show to prevent people from selling tickets for ridiculous prices.
The first half of their 90 minutes ish show was mostly songs off of Your Favorite Weapon and Deja Entendu. Then they played a few songs of their upcoming album Daisy which will hit the US on September 22nd. On first listen I definitely liked it, kind of in the vein of God And The Devil Are Raging Inside Me but a little heavier.
They finished the show with "Soco Amaretto Lime" and the whole place was singing along. A great show and I know a lot of you missed it but they will be playing Nassau Coliseum with Glassjaw on November 27th so keep you eyes and ears out for ticket info. I will also have an exclusive video up of them playing a song off of Daisy so check back tomorrow!
Wavves' is a band from California playing some surf rock with a punk rock attitude and lofi textures. Maybe the word band is inaccurate since it is currently comprised only of singer Nathan Williams. Drug and alcohol problems led to an abrupt end of their set in Spain earlier this year where he fought with drummer Ryan Ulsh and the crowd. The rest of the European tour was cancelled and Ulsh left the group earlier this summer.
Williams is back though with a few gigs booked including one at Bowery Ballroom on July 15th.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a strange fascination following the career of Joseph Gordon-Levitt. I liked his old sitcom (3rd Rock From The Sun), and always thought it was weird turning the TV on and seeing John Lithgow talk to the kid from that silly, silly movie Angels In The Outfield. Stupid Angels … nobody likes Anaheim …
I didn’t really take a shine to him until I saw him in one of my proudly admitted “guilty pleasure” movies, 10 Things I Hate About You. I’m a Shakespeare geek, and it was Shakespeare. And it was awesome. So, when a movie called Brick came on HBO one day, I saw he was the star and watched it – and not only was the movie amazing, but he was absolutely great in it – the kid was all grown up, and can act his damn ass off. In case anyone thought different, the same year Brick came out, so did The Lookout – another great film, with Gordon-Levitt as the star, and doing one hell of a job. So, I get a little excited about almost anything he’s in – it seems he picks real winners (we won’t talk about the upcoming disaster he’s in called G.I Joe).
On July 17th, his new film, (500) Days Of Summer, comes out. It has him starring opposite a great actress I also really like, Zooey Deschanel. You know her from Yes Man, Almost Famous, a brief stint on the show Weeds, and my personal favorite bit of her resume – The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy.
This movie has gotten rave reviews at its showings at film festivals, and after seeing the trailer, I know where I’ll be on July 17th.
Dan May is an American artist originally from Rochester, New York. I really enjoy his versatility in his style where he can use very solid strokes as he does in Stay Off The Grass (above) but also is capable of creating soft images like the piece shown below.
His piece entitled Henry's Burden (below) is based on David Lynch's film Eraserhead and will be a part of David Lynch's tribute show at Alcove Arts in Atlanta Georgia on July 10th.
This video is from The National and the song is called Mistaken for Strangers. They will be at the All Points West Festival this year, we will be doing a preview of the festival soon. For now enjoy the video to a really good song.
Our eye candy today is brought to you by Brandt Peters, an American artist. He has a unique style which I would describe as if Disney cartoons were more demented and done in graffiti.
I think it would be awesome if they made an animated film using his artwork, but that's just me. Check out Brandt's site here, and more links at Gelaskins.
The synth has definitely made a comeback lately but these guys have incorporated that element to their music for years. Phoenix is a band from France and one you guys should check out. They are on a big European tour but will be stopping by LA and NYC. The September 25th show at Central Park is sold out but they added another show on the 26th and Passion Pit is opening which is awesome because Passion Pit is one of my faves as of late.
