ThreeFro spinning FRIDAY MARCH 6TH

Just a shout out to a couple friends who'll be spinning tomorrow night, FRIDAY MARCH 6TH - at LOST & FOUND in BROOKLYN. Details below - definitely going to be good music, good dancing... and pizza.



Poster by RAYESS

PREVIEW WEEKLY - FRIDAY MARCH 6TH

WATCHMEN (DIR. ZACK SYNDER)

WATCHMEN will open to more theaters than any R-RATED film in history and the graphic novel the film is based on has been hailed by IMDB as the comic book genre's HAMLET. In short, if you're without children, go see this film. It should easily collect $40 MILLION this first weekend and could become the most talked about item in MARCH.

FORECAST

THE HORSEMEN (DIR. JONAS AKERLUND)

THE HORSEMEN clearly isn't shy about it's affection for FOX'S 24 and it would appear as though DENNIS QUAID was their upgrade from KEIFER SUTHERLAND. QUAID leads as a detective in this terror Da Vinci Code mash-up which smells of CSI and SAW but apparently lacking their budgets and writing. Not high praise, see as a last resort (although a scenario doesn't come to mind).

FORECAST

phoebe in wonderland (DIR. DANIEL BARNZ)

As it would turn out, PHOEBE is ELLE FANNING, yes, the younger (how is that possible?) sister of DAKOTA FANNING. There is hype surrounding ELLE'S performance, but anyone with FANNING as a last name is going to get that. The film has done well in the festival circuit and will offer a nice alternative from the slow-mo violence in WATCHMEN.

FORECAST
QUICK NOTE

This is the first of what will hopefully become a reoccurring weekly column regarding upcoming releases. Wanted to thank Nats, who showed me the photoshop ropes and helped inspire the design for the PREVIEW WEEKLY logo. Enjoy!

SNAPSHOT

From CBS'S HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER.

AN HBO REVIEW: FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS SEASON II

Soon the 7TH EPISODE of THE FLIGHT OF THE CONCHORDS (FOC) will air on HBO. A small following has developed around this quirky comedy and many have said they're working through SEASON I via NETFLIX, so why not give it a few paragraphs? For those not familiar, to set up the show briefly:

FOC launched in the SPRING of 2008 and follows BRET and JERMAINE, two folk musicians from NEW ZEALAND who have recently moved to NYC and struggle to establish themselves in the music scene. The two artists meander through CHINATOWN or WILLIAMSBURG (or some other ultra-hip/chic NYC neighborhood), often at the direction of their business manager, MURRAY. MURRAY's day job as an employee of the NEW ZEALAND CONSULATE is humorous but he bears an eerie similarity to the idiocy of other comedic "manger" types (a la MICHAEL SCOTT from NBC'S THE OFFICE). The penny-less BRET and JERMAINE charm their way through twelve episodes with cleverly crafted folk songs and creatively shot music videos.



Unlike many HBO first-run DRAMA series, FOC SEASON I seemed to be shot on the cheap. The music videos had a rough and tumble quality that seemed a perfect match to the apparently haphazard song lyrics. In some instances, these lyrics would imitate BRET and JERMAINE'S tomfoolery (usually involving a girl or girls of some kind), while in other cases, the songs seemed to drive forward the plot (events would unfold throughout the music video and by the end the characters have changed or learned a "vital" piece of knowledge). The application of the music video device is decidedly refreshing and gives the audience even more reason to lean towards their TV sets hoping to catch each syllable spewing from BRET and JERMAINE's mouths.

Another refreshing detail of FOC is it's obvious omission of the punch-line from the traditional comedy structure. Gone are exchanges of dialogue and carefully staged scenes that build towards a (hopefully) riotous climax - a structure shows such as SEINFELD, FRAISER and THE OFFICE have made staple . No, FOC never slows down long enough to worry about the big picture. Instead, it's comedy stems from the behavior of antagonists who reliably exercise the logic of a six-year old on a whim (and in some cases, this is insulting to the six-year old). Whether it's BRET and JERMAINE dissolving their band over a non-existent dispute, or their manager, MURRAY, confusing his way into an imagined CD deal with SONY MUSIC BMG - there's no such thing as clear communication in this universe. Perhaps the advantage of their punch-line-less comedy structure? We don't have to pay attention to the ignorant behavior of one character, just so long as it complements the idiocy of the other characters enough to get a snicker.

Along the way we're introduced to MEL, an obsessed (and frankly pathological) follower of the musicians, who's married to the horribly unmotivated DOUG. DOUG is devoid of any anxiety a natural person would emote considering his wife's sexual infatuation with two other men; but he at least has the courtesy to be boring in the background. SEASON I of FOC also highlighted a guest appearance by DIMITRI MARTIN, a comedian who's own TV show (IMPORTANT THINGS WITH DIMITRI MARTIN) is currently in it's first season COMEDY CENTRAL (WED/10:30 PM).

FOC SEASON II didn't start particularly strong but FOC SEASON I didn't end with bang so I doubt this surprises anyone. HBO pumped a healthy amount of money into the budgets and SEASON II has lost some if its guerilla comedy appeal. In it's place are more complex musical videos (that heavily feature the supporting cast), escalated stupidity and higher caliber celebrity appearances (most recently KRISTEN WIIG from NBC'S SNL). But these aren't all bad things, and if you're inclined to tolerate absurdity and can enjoy a sampling of comical folk music, FOC SEASON II is definitely worth tuning in to. Here's to keeping this review a moderate length and FOC SEASON II a moderate success.

PS - For those interested, JERMAINE of FOC was featured in a film EAGLE vs SHARK (that boasts a small cult-like following) and was directed by the same person (TAIKA COHEN) who has helmed several FOC I&II episodes.

THE DEFINITIVE OSCAR RUNDOWN

The 2009 ACADEMY AWARDS held very few surprises. Maybe you could stretch it and call PENELOPE CRUZ's victory a surprise - maybe even SEAN PENN's - but there was no clear cut favorite in either category (despite the incessant lull over ROURKE and WINSLET - the latter of whom incidentally was awarded a trophy later in the evening). No, this year the surprises came with the NOMINATIONS - so before we can get into the show itself, let's first revisit that fateful JANUARY 22ND 2009 - the true day the ACADEMY showed its colors.

Beginning with the most obvious snubbing, THE DARK KNIGHT (TDK): So infrequently does a motion picture resonate with a global audience, that it's happened maybe fewer than 5 times in the past 3 decades. And before anyone goes down the "the ACADEMY won't reward blockbusters" path - let me clear my throat before saying, TITANIC (11 WINS). Was TDK a superior film to TITANIC? Almost in no way. But what is curious and frustrating is that TDK was stripped even of an OSCAR NOD. How on earth is that possible? Even STAR WARS - back in 1977 - a period of time some could argue the ACADEMY was more strict. Even then, in 1977 - STAR WARS was a BEST PICTURE NOMINATION. You know why? Because it deserved it. This portion could go on for hours - but suffice to say the snubbing began with TDK in the PICTURE, DIRECTOR, SCORE, and COSTUME.

And the snubbing continued. THE WRESTLER was absent from both PICTURE, DIRECTOR and ORIGINAL SONG (BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN anyone?). In it's place was THE READER - a paltry box office dud only released (one would imagine) to showcase WINSLET'S performance. So reward her PERFORMANCE instead of universally celebrating a picture 98% of movie audiences haven't seen. And enough of the "a motion picture doesn't have to be seen in order to be good" arguement. Why the heck else would a film be made if not to be seen? Also clogging the pipelines was FROST/NIXON - a picture that unsurprisingly went on to win .. NOTHING. Other less noteworthy snubs would include GRAN TORINO, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN and a variety of actor/actress roles that could be endlessly debated. So we won't.

Onto the show itself. HUGH JACKMAN did a fair-to-good job of hosting - although my complaints with him are rooted in the show's writing rather than his execution. And much as I adored the BAZ LUHRMANN choreographed songs and sequences - something felt too TONY'Sish for me and by the time BEYONCE was stuttering through a mosh-up of musicals, I almost wished she'd just sing SINGLE LADIES and get the heck off the stage. Speaking of the stage - the set was magnificent. From the arch of crystal strung together, to the ever-changing (in both color and pattern) presentation floor - to the oddities you find on an everyday film set, the art direction was perfect. Not as perfect? The editing of our 2008 montage recaps. Stomaching the 2008 ANIMATION montage was a chore and it appeared the ACADEMY restricted itself to some five pictures (one a Star Wars film no one saw) and a never ending amount of martially arts gifted PANDA. The 2008 ACTION montage was much better but the 2008 ROMANCE montage almost had me in stitches when they highlighted a scene from TDK - a motion picture I wouldn't traditionally (or heck, even untraditionally) consider romantic.

Among the highlights of the show were the moments Hollywood took to jab at itself. Whether it was HUGH JACKMAN slamming the ACADEMY for nominating THE READER over TDK - or BEN STILLER mocking the once-great JOAQUIN PHOENIX - the lightness of the show partly redeemed the darkness of its errs. STILLER didn't survive unscathed either thanks to REESE WITHERSPOON connecting a swift uppercut when she recalled an anecdote that had STILLER in a tirade, holed up in his trailer, refusing to speak and halting production on some unknown motion picture. Great also was when WILL SMITH said the greatest reason to be an action star was that ... "they actually have fans." BA-ZING, ACADEMY! At one point too, HUGH called himself by his stage name WOLVERINE (ahh thank you very much).

I suppose now the last place we can take this sum-up is to the awards themselves. No surprises, really. Maybe SLUMDOG taking CINEMATOGRAPHY - but frankly saying SLUMDOG surprised in any category borders on foolish. AMY ADAMS (if you can't love ENCHANTED than just get over it already) will have to wait another year - or two, but at least she isn't ISLA FISHER, who will be waiting the rest of her life. Once MILK got SCREENPLAY - PENN's trophy for ACTOR was less surprising. I'm classic when it comes to SOUND EDITING/MIXING - and wasn't happy to see it go to two different pictures (TDK/SLUMDOG respectively) - when either picture deserved both.

Overall it was the typical parade. A favorite night among film junkies and Americans alike. I believe the ACADEMY got the AWARDS right - regardless of whether or not they butchered the NOMINATIONS. I snapped a photo of that mini statue on top of an old four-pack of COCA COLA because who in their right mind could see a motion picture without the cool crips taste of COCA COLA CLASSIC. No one should, I tell you. This is America. We watch the motion pictures, we drink the COCA COLA, go to the baseball diamond every now and then and call it a life. What could be better?