Welcome to The Guest List, where indie musicians become film critics and actors become political analysts. Celebrity experts from every industry have joined ifc.com this month for some round table discussions on the world at large. Enjoy the free flowing independent perspectives as these insiders give us their thoughts, opinions, grudges and acclamations. There are no parameters and no prescribed topics. Stream of blogisciousness, if you will.
Summer Preview, Many Thanks, and Aloha, Mr. Hand!
By Zach Galligan on 05/30/2008
Summer is typically a pretty solid time for books, music and movies. Here are some I'm looking forward to, regardless of quality. Movies: The Dark Knight: Christopher Nolan's first crack at Batman was so strong, I'm kinda dying to see how he's going to up the ante. Plus, how could you not want to see the late, great Heath Ledger's final performance? Hancock: Maybe the trailer is just superb, but Will Smith really picks his material well. This superhero as anti-hero popcorn flick looks to be more original than 99% of summer flicks, and it also stars the exceedingly... MORE »
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Door Blockers and Subway Sprinters: An Observation
By Zach Galligan on 05/29/2008
Filed under: Zach GalliganI live in Manhattan and take the subway practically everyday. Over the past year or two, as subway ridership has reached record levels, I have noticed a pattern of behavior among a certain group of fellow strap hangers (OK, the strap is long gone, but the cool nickname remains) that is typical of Type A New Yorkers. I'm sure other people have noticed this behavior as well, but I haven't seen it discussed in any detail. I'm talking, of course, about Door Blocking and Subway Sprinting. Let's begin with the more common affliction, Door Blocking. You are a commuter, and... MORE »
Jason Statham: Getting Better All the Time
By Zach Galligan on 05/28/2008
Filed under: Zach GalliganTen years ago, when I saw Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, I was impressed with an unknown actor named Jason Statham. He seemed raw, yet had an undeniable charm and, yes, that indefinable quality, charisma. He displayed it again in his next Guy Ritchie film, Snatch, playing Turkish, the sketchy boxing promoter who gets pulled into the criminal underworld. Soon, I began to see commercials for something called The Transporter, and there, again, was Statham. Not being much of an action film buff, I passed. As I flipped through the cable channels a few years later, the Italian Job... MORE »
I Hope You Had a Happy Memorial Day.
By Martha Davis on 05/28/2008
Filed under: Martha DavisMemorial Day weekend, time for barbecues, parties, sales, (which means lots of shopping), and perhaps getting drunk and abusing a loved one.... it happens. And this is to commemorate what? Many years ago I was driving up a road in the Ventura hills, it was Memorial Day. The sun had just set to reveal a gigantic moon. MORE »
23:THE BLOG
By Ray Abruzzo on 05/28/2008
Filed under: Ray AbruzzoAlexander, Allard, Barrasso, Bennett, Brownback, Bunning, Burr, Cochran, Corker, Cornyn, DeMint, Ensign, Enzi, Graham, Grassley, Gregg, Hatch, Kyl, Lugar, McConnell, Sessions, Voinovich. Do you recognize those 22 names? What do those people have in common? I would venture to guess they all wear American Flag Lapel pins. It would be pretty safe to assume they have "SUPPORT OUR TROOPS" yellow ribbon bumper stickers on their SUV's. It would be a safe bet to think they have each used the phrase, "we are living in a post 9/11 world", to justify the illegal wiretaps or suspension of Habeas Corpus or use... MORE »
RocknRoll Dysfunction or I was Elvis Ramone
By Clem Burke on 05/28/2008
Filed under: Clem BurkeIt seems as though some great myth was created by the film A Hard Day's Night, it being that all RocknRoll bands were just one big happy family. I'm here to tell you that being in a band is like being a part of a dysfunctional family. I spent a short time in The Ramones and there were problems in that family. The guitar player didn't speak to the singer and the bass guitarist sat in the back of the van getting stoned all the time. Of course The Ramones are our generation's Beatles, they also have a film. It's... MORE »
The Chef Boy Ar Dee Incident
By Zach Galligan on 05/27/2008
Filed under: Zach GalliganIn order to make sense of this story, you need to know a few things. First of all, my wife likes to shop for shoes. Often. Usually she exercises restraint, but every now and then, given the time, money and inclination, she can make Imelda Marcos seem like a rank amateur. So, when I happened to have a little cash lying around - maybe a couple hundred bucks - I would slip it in an envelope and put it in the cutlery drawer, just in case she or I needed a few dollars. Soon, however, I began to notice that... MORE »
MAKE LOVE NOT WAR
By Evan Seinfeld & Tera Patrick on 05/22/2008
Filed under: Evan Seinfeld, Tera PatrickEVAN Why do we find it ok to create movies, television, and video games about killing and the glorification of gratuitous violence? From war movies, to unlikely duos, from police stories on TV, to dramas, mysteries, and horror movies, etc. It seems we are a society obsessed with violence and killing. A question I would love to pose is,"how many of the people who watch this programming will actually kill someone in their lifetime? We portray murder, revenge actual wars, westerns, gangster movies, and the list goes on. Do you think even 1% of the viewers will ever kill someone?... MORE »
Wow, That's Just So Random...
By Zach Galligan on 05/22/2008
Filed under: Zach GalliganSitting here in front of the computer, still reeling from the pulse pounding American Idol finish last night (totally, deeply kidding), I am mildly surprised. For the first time in nearly three weeks, I don't feel a pressing need to write about one specific topic. I'm not in the mood to be introspective, deep, or even vaguely thoughtful. Instead, I would rather talk about a bunch of random stuff, the mental bric-a-brac that tumbles through my head without warning and, more often than not, reason. So, in no particular order: White Beer: I'm not much of a beer drinker, and... MORE »
KILL! KILL! KILL! Now, THAT'S funny.
By Ray Abruzzo on 05/22/2008
Filed under: Ray AbruzzoOn a recent radio show hosted by conservative Bill Bennett, Joe Lieberman chuckled with glee at the idea put forth by Bennett that Hillary would bomb Iran. "It does have an appeal to it" he added through his Fudd-like chortle. Mike Huckabee at an NRA meeting "joked" that a noise back stage was Obama hitting the ground after someone pointed a gun at him. When Huckabee was forced to apologize for his dangerously stupid adlib, he inadvertently gave us a further peek into his dark, twisted soul. He said many politicians get caught making jokes that they may have to... MORE »
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