Click on the slide!

REVIEW: Public Enemies

In 1934, John Dillinger was famously shot dead coming out of a gangster movie. The movie in question was a…

Click on the slide!

Greatest '70s Albums

  Another decade comes to a close in the fourth chapter of 50 Years of Great Music, looking now at…

Click on the slide!

Moby Gets Personal

For all the up-tempo dance-pop splendor that Moby showcased on last year’s critically lauded Last Night, an album that was…

Click on the slide!

LOST: Television Worth Buying

The best shows on television live outside themselves; when the credits roll, the fans don’t just call it a night.…

Click on the slide!

Keeping Good Taste at Bay

Of all the things you can screw up when making a Transformers movie, from logic to story to mythological accuracy,…

Frontpage Slideshow (version 2.0.0) - Copyright © 2006-2008 by JoomlaWorks
SmallMediumLarge
REVIEW: Downloading Nancy Movies
Written by Arya Ponto
Friday, 03 July 2009   
Downloading Nancy
Director(s): Johan Renck
Writer(s): Pamela Cuming & Lee Ross
Starring: Maria BelloJason PatrickRufus SewellAmy Brenneman
Genre: DramaThriller

Downloading Nancy is not, just so you know, a movie about the Internet. The online world itself plays little part in the story, save for it being the tool that connects Nancy (Maria Bello) to an intimate stranger named Louis (Jason Patrick), behind the back of her distanced husband Albert (Rufus Sewell). If anything, writers Lee Ross and Pamela Cuming, as well as director Johan Renck—all first-timers—use the term more for its allegorical quality. Nancy's marriage is so devoid of happiness that she's gotten used to cutting, masturbating and chatting online to find moments of short bliss. From that last one she meets Louis, a man she asks to kill her.

Read more...
 
Today's Short: "Late Term Abortion" Movies
Written by Arya Ponto
Wednesday, 01 July 2009   

todaysshort

Being pro-choice doesn't mean you lose the right to choose once the baby's out of the womb. Dr. Charles Nash, PhD, who is not really a physician, will help you get rid of unwanted children—no matter how late! Is this something that should be condoned? Actually, it's just a funny sketch from the guys at TotallySketch.com. Best part is at the end.

Read more...
 
Win a Harry Potter Collector's Book Boxset! Movies
Written by Lex Walker
Wednesday, 01 July 2009   

harry_potter_half_blood_prince_dumbledore_potterHey, all you Harry Potter fans! To be frank, the summer blockbusters of 2009 have all been somewhat miserable (even if they are making serious bank). The last reprieve of the summer is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, directed by David Yates, hitting theaters on July 15! Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint return as the wizards-in-training as they gear up for one of the most harrowing chapters in the series. To celebrate its release, JustPressPlay is giving one lucky winner all seven books in an awesome collectible case and to five runners-up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (finally released on paperback July 7th). That's right, because we value literacy.

All you have to is zap your e-mail into the box below, hit submit and you'll be entered to win! Like magic...or technology - which are interchangeable if you're older than 75.

Enter your e-mail for a chance to win! (*)
Invalid Input
One entry per e-mail, duplicate IP addresses are disqualified!

hp_july_prizingThere's only two weeks left and so we here at JustPressPlay are giving you a chance to snatch up a must-have collector's item. The Harry Potter boxed set includes the seven phenomenal Harry Potter hardcover books by best selling author J. K. Rowling. These books are housed in a collectible trunk-like box with sturdy handles and privacy lock. Bonus decorative stickers are included in each boxed set. You may have read each one 5 times through by now, but even when they were brand new sans folded pages and scuff marks they never looked as good as this.

 

 

Notice: Many will enter, few will win. Limit one (1) entry per person, excess of one entry results in disqualification and ineligiblity to win. E-mail information received will NOT be kept a week past contest end date, all information will be held private and never used for soliciation. You don't like spam, we don't like spam. For more information on the Harry Potter books visit Scholastic's Website. Contest ends July 22, 2009.

 
REVIEW: Wilco (The Album) Music
Written by Matt Medlock
Wednesday, 01 July 2009   
Wilco (The Album)
Artist: Wilco
Label: Nonesuch
Genre: AlternativeCountryPopRock

If this is the sound of a band floundering without inspiration, I’ll take it, and so should you. Whenever a band rises to a once restricted plateau, suddenly there’s no excuse to wander down the path sloping into the valley. For Wilco, as they ascended past Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (pick your own favorite), they were expected to keep going. And A Ghost Is Born was nearly of the same height, yet suddenly the consensus said, “too far.” Then when they “played it safe” with a mostly ordinary batch of summery pop and country rock tunes on 2007’s Sky Blue Sky, the fanbase was split, and fears of settling began to ripple. Now we have the amusingly titled Wilco (The Album), which could be called a retread (no matter the implications of insult or applause you consider with such a remark). So it’s the sort of stuff they do, and more of it. Stale? Not quite, but isn’t more of the same still better than a bad turn?

Read more...
 
Heath Ledger Wanted to be Fired from "Dark Knight"? Movies
Written by Arya Ponto
Tuesday, 30 June 2009   

fycSo what was it about Heath Ledger's Joker that made it so memorable, so feverishly engrossing in its complete abandon? Was it his deep understanding of the character? His anarchic approach? Could it be that it was because he was secretly hoping to get fired from the movie, so he let it all hang out and it ended up working flawlessly for the psychotic supervillain?

According to a new article on the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair, Ledger didn't really want to be in a big blockbuster movie like The Dark Knight and only took the job to get away from other big offers.

Be warned that the piece is quite gossipy and focuses on Ledger's personal demons and his failed relationship, which is rather off-putting for me, personally. It takes snipes at Michelle Williams, and I'm disappointed to see Terry Gilliam contributing to this speculative "what made Ledger snap" stuff. A part of it, though, is fascinating in what it reveals about Ledger's decision to go from an Academy Award-heavy film and small art projects to being a Batman villain.

Read more...
 
Collectible Picture Discs Music
Written by Robert Benson
Tuesday, 30 June 2009   

inlettinggoThe vinyl record resurgence is in full swing and going hand-in-hand with this phenomenon is a renewed interest in picture discs. Not only are they graced with fantastic artwork or a photo of the artist or band, these marvels of vinyl are usually made in limited quantities making them highly sought after and collectible.

Picture discs are manufactured to be a collectible and not meant to play as well as a conventional vinyl record; although some actually sound great. This is due to the manufacturing process as each side is coated with layers of PVC (poly vinyl chloride); sometimes up to five layers.As this process is being done, a continuous groove of music or even a band interview is pressed onto the playing surface.

Read more...
 
Best Ultraman Story Ever? Movies
Written by Arya Ponto
Tuesday, 30 June 2009   

I used to love Ultraman. I don't know why. There's something awesome about the idea of a guy holding up a magical pen and suddenly turning into a giant dude in leotards fighting an equally giant monster—but only for three minutes! Because then his chest starts blinking and he loses his powers. That was always a ridiculously neat catch. The point is, Ultraman was cool.

Hence why I'm looking forward to this movie, which sounds like the greatest Ultraman movie ever made. It's called Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie. They're going to have to shorten that up for the US release. I'm not up to date with my Ultraman knowledge, but as far as I can tell, it's a movie based on a TV series based on a video game. Hence the "The Movie" suffix, I guess.

Read more...
 
Zack Snyder Interrupts Your Blu-ray Viewing of "Watchmen" Movies
Written by Arya Ponto
Monday, 29 June 2009   

I may not like Zack Snyder's adaptation of Watchmen, but I do admit that he put a lot of effort into the details, which is why the movie is just perfect for the following Blu-ray feature. The Watchmen Director's Cut Blu-ray presents something called the Maximum Movie Mode. It's basically a visual commentary on steroids, featuring the director himself. As you can see from the video below, Snyder plays host to the film, bringing up behind-the-scene footage, comic comparisons, trivia, storyboards, and even pauses and rewinds the movie to point out certain things.

Read more...