I met up with Brandon Mclean on Wednesday as he hung his installation “Logos Lore & More” at Urban Outfitter’s in Ybor City.
Brandon is a Florida native who now resides in Orlando. He travels the country as part of a team who builds wake-skate courses and when not out on the road he spends his time producing collage work and paintings.
His works consists of layering classic ad imagery of the 50’s and 60’s with photo transfers and paintings. Here are some words and photos from his installation process.
As I walked toward the window I saw Brandon drawing in a notebook. I thought he might be doing some last minute mapping out of his installation. He was actually drawing up this sign. “I messed up the sticker” I like when artist do not take themselves too seriously.
Brandon had two sheets of plywood worth of these little square pieces.
Some close up shots of the smaller squares.
Image boxes: There where numerous boxes like these overflowing with materials. Brandon gets his collage materials from about anywhere. But he just recently bought two filling cabinets from an art/junk sale that belonged to an illustrator. He said it was a treasure chest of imagery from the 30’s until the present.
Here is where the install was at when I had to take off…
b>...and here is how it looks completed from the inside…
b>...and from the outside.
Check out more of Brandon’s work at:
http://www.elus1v.com
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s. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale
Genre: Sci-Fi/Sequel
Directed by: Chris Fisher
Run time: 103 minutes
Rating: R
Format: Blu-Ray
The Lowdown: Huh?
Why?
What the…?
Here’s a tip for anyone who loved Richard Kelly’s mind-screw cult classic “Donnie Darko”: Don’t touch this terrible not-really-sequel, not-even-good bastard spawn of a rip-off.
It will only make you mad. Really mad.
For anyone who hasn’t seen “Donnie Darko,” and somehow happens to watch this piece of crap, do not judge Richard Kelly’s mind-screw cult classic based on your opinion of “s. Darko: A Donnie Darko Tale.”
For everyone else, including friends of director Chris Fisher, don’t read the rest of this review. It will only make you mad. Really mad.
Who the hell gave the thumbs-up, A-ok to this mess? And did they even bother to watch the original source material before deciding that there was more to tell of the sad, fated time-space journey of Donnie, Frank and Roberta Sparrow?
Fisher has basically urinated on the brilliance of “Donnie Darko” by making a film that isn’t a sequel as much as a cobbled together mess that pulls pieces of “Donnie” haphazardly – like a cook using whatever is in the cupboard to make a crap pie.
First, there’s the returning Daveigh Chase as Samantha, the s. Darko of the title, whose brief but cult-tastic turn in Sparklemotion helped set the stage for the airplane engine that plummets to earth, killing her brother.
She barely mentions him for about half of the film. Instead, she’s on a roadtrip with friend Corey (Briana Evigan, very hot) to California to become dancers (ie, strippers). Samantha is all grown up and pretty sexy, but she’s not fleshed out enough to wrap an entire film around.
Frank the Bunny reappears, this time as some weird boogeyman/harbinger of doom whose awesome visage is now forged in metal by Iraq Jack (James Lafferty), who is made to look as much like Jake Gyllenhaal as possible. Turns out, Jack is a descendant of Roberta Sparrow…HUH?...and he too has prophetic visions of the end of the world.
Then there’s Randy (Ed Westwick), the “Gossip Girl” heartthrob, who exists for no reason other than to look like some weak James Dean rip-off and tell a sad story about his brother mysteriously disappearing.
It seems a lot of people have disappeared, or died, from the same bizarre circumstances that Samantha Darko’s brother encountered. All manner of objects have fallen from the sky and crushed them.
None of this is explained very well, of course.
And we haven’t even gotten to the part where Samantha basically becomes Frank the Bunny and foretells the death of Corey, who is then miraculously resurrected through some unexplained tear in the space-time continuum and then Samantha dies and…oh hell, you get the idea that none of this makes any sense.
Everything culminates in an apocalyptic meteor shower that isn’t very apocalyptic and really does little to further the plotline or explain why or what this has to do with Donnie Darko.
Imagine if Martin Scorsese had been kept out of the loop and some mediocre director had decided to make “J. La Motta,” a sequel of sorts to Scorses’s Oscar-winning biopic of boxer Jake La Motta, only this time it was told through the eyes of Joe Pesci’s Joey La Motta.
Yeah, it would have sucked as bad as “s. Darko.”
Possibly.
You don’t have to travel forward in time to know that few movies, lame-brained sequels or not, have ever blown as bad as this one.
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Yes.
Nudity – Brief.
Gore – Minimal.
Drug use – Yes.
Bad Guys/Killers – Chris Fisher. Bad bad bad man.
Buy/Rent – Neither.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – Filmmaker commentary, deleted scenes and a making-of documentary.
On the Web – http://www.sdarko.com/
Release Date – May 12, 2009
The Human Contract
Genre: Drama/Erotica
Directed by: Jada Pinkett Smith
Run time: 107 minutes
Rating: R
Format: DVD
The Lowdown: Remember movies like “Two Moon Junction” or “91/2 Weeks”?
You know, the highly-stylized mainstream “adult” movies that teased viewers with an R-rated sexfest that bordered on porn but never crossed that line into XXX territory.
We’re talking Zalman King’s “Red Shoes Diaries” amped up to feature-film length in order to spotlight a few extra bare buttocks or breasts.
Yeah, so does Jada Pinkett Smith apparently.
“The Human Contract,” her writing and directorial debut, presents such a tumultuous, torrid encounter between Jason Clarke and Paz Vega.
There’s little you need to know about the movie except this:
1 – It tries really hard to be erotic, but really only generates considerable heat during a fantastic limo sex scene where Vega and Clarke are watched by a female driver.
2 – The camera lingers far too long on Clarke’s seven-head (For the follicle-challenged, and that includes your intrepid reviewer, that means this poor guy is three spots past a forehead and should seriously consider shaving his scalp bald).
3 – It’s not very good overall, but as a curious celebrity vanity project, “The Human Contract” warrants a watch if only to get a sense of what stimulates one-half of the world’s second sexiest couple.
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Paz Vega, very hot.
Nudity – Yes.
Gore – No.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – None.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Release Date – June 30, 2009
The Betrayed
Genre: Thriller
Directed by: Amanda Gusack
Run time: 99 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: DVD
The Lowdown: “The Betrayed” boasts an interesting premise that quickly gets tired, if only because the majority of the film takes place in a single room.
Melissa George, quickly becoming the go-to babe for genre horror flicks, plays Jamie, a dutiful wife who gets kidnapped and mildly tortured by a secret association of terrorists trying to located $40 million that they think her husband stole.
Jamie has a son who is diabetic, which presents the mild tension that fuels the plot. The bad guys have her son, and they threaten to kill him if she refuses to help.
But after awhile, there’s only so much middling back and forth between Jamie and her masked captor (Oded Fehr) that you can squeeze suspense from, and the movie fizzles well before its not-that-shocking conclusion that plays like “Reservoir Dogs”-lite.
Not even the great Alice Krige, the baddest of the Borg, can save “The Betrayed” from discount bin status.
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Melissa George, genre hottie.
Nudity – No.
Gore – Gun violence.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – A secret organization of terrorists and thieves.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Release Date – June 30, 2009
Dark Streets
Genre: Musical/Mystery/Noir
Directed by: Rachel Samuels
Run time: 83 minutes
Rating: R
Format: DVD
The Lowdown: Playing like a fetish-lite version of “Chicago,” this 1930s-retro-noir oddity doesn’t have the stones to go all out, pulling back its sexual energy when it should be pushing boundaries and offering up low-rent, badly-lip-synched musical performances.
“Dark Streets” wants to be cooler than it is. With its smokey interiors, throw-back fashions (mixed with a penchant for out-of-time leather arm gauntlets and corsets) and pulpy dialogue, this could have been a cult favorite. And in one scene near the end, it really takes off, baring skin and flashing teeth with a dark and highly erotic stage production.
But director Rachel Samuels doesn’t seem confident enough to capture the seedy soul of the booze-soaked bar owners and cheap torch singers she’s trying to convey.
And her decision to shoot every scene with a hazy camera eye that fuzzes the edges of each shot like some old-timey photograph is both bold and poorly executed. It gives “Dark Streets” a visually interesting foundation that she’s unable to build upon, which ultimately makes the camera trick just that – a trick, meant to distract from the slight proceedings.
Fans of movie musicals may find some interest in the original songs and colorful production numbers, but movie enthusiasts who like edgy, original fare likely won’t
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Smoking hot babes throughout.
Nudity – Brief.
Gore – No.
Drug use – Yes.
Bad Guys/Killers – Ambition is a killer.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Release Date – June 30, 2009
The Midnight Blue Collection: Porn Stars of the 90’s
Genre: Reality
Created by: Al Goldstein
Run time: 120 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: DVD
The Midnight Blue Collection: Porn Stars of the 80’s
Genre: Reality
Created by: Al Goldstein
Run time: 120 minutes
Rating: Unrated
Format: DVD
The Lowdown: Al Goldstein, the mastermind behind “Screw” magazine, is a pig.
He’s a loudmouth, over-opinionated jerk whose face was not made for looking in a mirror. But that never stopped him from putting his indelible stamp on adult entertainment.
Already this year he has popped up as an outspoken talking head in the very-good documentary “American Swing” about the rise and fall of “Plato’s Retreat,” the iconic New York City swinger’s club.
And now two volumes of erotic interviews, sex ads and carnal skits have been culled from his public-access television show, Midnight Blue, to document the best and most recognized stars that the XXX film world had to offer.
The DVD retrospectives are a blast, reveling in their poor production values, off-the-cuff on-screen antics and vulgar tirades against some stars (Jenna Jameson) who refused to honor Goldstein’s request for an interview.
”Porn Stars of the 90’s” features such luminaries as Christy Canyon, Teri Weigel, Jeanna Fine and the tattooed sex freak (God love her) Viper.
“Porn Stars of the 80’s” is even better with such legendary stars like Ron Jeremy, Nina Hartley and the incredibly sexy Latin temptress Vanessa Del Rio, who gets busy with her on-screen interviewer Steve Krause in a lurid display that’s kind of gross, yet makes you jealous at the same time.
These are the blue movie stars that your parents watched, and the later icons who ushered in the age of VHS porn, gracing countless video boxes in the back rooms of rental stores across the country.
It’s a fascinating, often highly entertaining, look behind the curtain at movie stars who are incredibly comfortable being naked.
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – Yes.
Nudity – Gratuitous and hardcore.
Gore – No.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – None.
Buy/Rent – Buy it.
Release Date – June 30, 2009
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Valkyrie
Genre: Military/Action
Directed by: Bryan Singer
Run time: 121 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Format: Blu-Ray
The Lowdown: The customary World War II has you rooting for American GI’s to overtake those dreaded, heartless Nazis.
How refreshing then it is to find yourself rooting for a disparate band of German soldiers trying to undermine their own leader to kill Hitler and end the war.
The strong and entertaining “Valkyrie” is not the misguided Tom Cruise vanity project that you may have heard about.
It’s not the offensive English-speaking German war movie that trailers made it appear (Much like “The Hunt for Red October,” the German language is present until it shifts, mid-sentence, into English, explaining why all these Nazis are speaking without subtitles).
It’s a solid pot-boiler of a war movie that, despite having an ending that you already know, still provides enough suspense and bravado to thoroughly entertain. And Cruise is really good here, surrounded by an excellent ensemble of veteran A-list actors like Kenneth Branagh, Tom Wilkinson, Terrence Stamp and Bill Nighy.
The action scenes early on crackle, and the ensuing set-up to the failed bomb assassination of Hitler snaps along with enough twists to keep you guessing when the rebels will be caught.
The script by Christopher McQuarrie is also good, if lacking that OMG spark that punched up “The Usual Suspects” and “The Way of the Gun.” And Singer, likely still smarting from the pummeling he took on “Superman Returns” shows the steady hand and capable eye that made him a director to watch years ago.
The Stuff You Care About:
Hot chicks – No.
Nudity – No.
Gore – War violence.
Drug use – No.
Bad Guys/Killers – Hitler. ‘Nuff said.
Buy/Rent – Rent it.
Blu-Ray Bonus Features – A bunker full of bonus goodies, including audio commentary with Tom Cruise, Bryan Singer and Christopher McQuarrie; a live movie chat recorded in New York City with Cruise and Singer; the documentary, “The Valkyrie Legacy”; five featurettes focusing on behind-the-scenes preparation for key scenes and set design.
On the Web – http://valkyrie.unitedartists.com/
Release Date – May 19, 2009
FOX News Channel (FNC) continues to have a banner year in the ratings, according to the network.
Viewing of the all-news network was up again in the second quarter 2009. FNC topped both CNN and MSNBC combined in viewership according to Nielsen Media Research.
Audience gains during the first two quarters of 2009 have put FNC on-track to have the highest rated year in the network’s nearly 13 year history.
FNC was the only cable news network of the three to post audience gains in total viewers and the key 25-54 demographic in both total day and prime time when compared to the same quarter last year.
Among basic cable networks, FNC ranked third for the quarter in total prime time viewership behind only USA Network and TNT, with CNN and MSNBC lagging behind at 23rd and 25th, respectively.
All the news networks tend to skew older and the bulk of the news viewers are over age 50.
But in the key 25-54 demographic, FNC made gains, expanding on its lead over its rival averaging 513,000 viewers while CNN with 240,000 viewers was down 19 percent and MSNBC with 264,000 was down 1 percent.
MSNBC is now head of CNN and is on track to finish its year in second place behind Fox.
FNC also logged all 10 of the top 10 rated programs in cable news for the month based on total viewership.
“The O’Reilly Factor” continued it’s reign as the top cable news program for 103 consecutive months in June up 31% over the same quarter last year.
Rounding out the top five programs were: Hannity (up 33%); Glenn Beck (up 110%); On the Record with Greta Van Susteren (up 45%); Special Report with Bret Baier (up 41%); The FOX Report with Shepard Smith (up 38%).
USA has announced it will air all of the hottest episodes from the sizzling summer series, “BURN NOTICE” from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. followed by an encore of the premiere episode of the newest hit series “ROYAL PAINS” at 10 p.m.
After nearly 21 years at WTVT, anchor Frank Robertson retired on Monday. His friend Russell Rhodes put together a video tribute. Frank signed off on the 5:30 newscast thanking his colleagues and the viewers - and his wife, anchor Kathy Fountain.
Robertson joined the station to be the chief anchor at 6 and 11 p.m. He was teamed with Kelly Craig, who left for a job in Miami. Ironically, Craig is signing off from WTVJ in Miami, the victim of budget cuts.
Kelly Craig, who was a co-anchor at WTVT in Tampa about 20 years ago, reportedly is among staffers being cut from WTVJ in Miami.
Craig, who has been in Miami since leaving here, was a victim of budget cuts. The NBC affilate also is dropping its weekend newscast.
The stations owners had tried to sell WTVJ to Post-Newsweek for $205 million but the deal fell apart late last year.
Craig preceded Kelly Ring at Channel 13. She issued a statement about leaving WJTV: “From the bottom of my heart, I thank South Florida for 19 years of support and viewership. I am truly blessed to have worked at a station where I was surrounded by dedicated professionals who I am honored to call my friends.”
Craig joined the station in 1990.
I’ve gone too long without mentioning local writer Eduardo F. Calcines, who has written Leaving Glorytown, a memoir about his time growing up in Cuba. Nothing I can say captures the book better than Calcines’ introduction: “I was a child of Communism. This means I was raised in two worlds—one a world of ideals, the other the real world. The world of ideals was full of Fidel Castro’s lying propaganda and empty promises of a better tomorrow. The real world was even worse: a world of oppression, hunger, fear, poverty and violence.” Calcines also promises that the memoir “is true in its depiction of Cuban life.”
On a related but also completely different note, if that makes sense, local author Jeff Strand has had his novel, “Pressure”, published by Leisure Books. This imprint of Dorchester Publishing specializes in horror fiction. I’d quote from Jeff’s book, but he scares me too much. Actually, he’s very funny in a completely demented way. Read for yourself.
The winners of this year’s Florida Book Awards are featured in the summer issue of Forum, the magazine of the Florida Humanities Council. There are gold, silver and bronze winners in seven categories, and a gold in book design. The magazine presents excerpts from each and information about the authors.
So what does Florida do for writers? Why are so many here? Because it sucks when it’s below freezing and the car won’t start, I say. But, OK, there’s also something lyrical about the place, as captured by Forum editor Barbara O’Reilley in the article that opens the issue. She writes: “Some Florida writers say that the very essence of this state—its brilliant light, its green fertility, its forever shifting perch on the edge of the sea—pervades their senses and enters their work.” See for yourself.
In memory of Farrah Fawcett, WGN America will preempt regular programming to air a “Charlie’s Angels ” on Saturday and Sunday nights.
The marathon will air as part of WGN America’s “Outta Sight Retro Nights” package, with a new graphic “A Tribute to Farrah.” The marathon will include hosted interstitials recalling highlights of Farrah’s career.
And E! Entertainment Television will be airing the following specials:
“True Hollywood Story: Michael Jackson”
- Sunday at 1: p.m. This is a repeat of two-hour documentary about the life of this pop icon.
“E! News Special: Michael & Farrah: Lost Icons”
Premieres Saturday, June 27 at 10:30 a.m. This 30-minute special chronicles the lives of two famous American icons that the world lost on Thursday, June 25th.
“E! Michael Jackson”
- Premieres Wednesday, July 1 at 10 p.m. With full cooperation from Sony, Michael Jackson and the Jackson organization, this one-hour special is billed as “the definitive documentary” on the pop icon and his music.
Featuring personal home videos, new and archival interviews with Jackson, his family and friends, including a comment from the choreographer who taught the pop icon how to do his trademarked Moonwalk, the documentary charts the life journey of this international superstar.
NBC has released its Fall premiere schedule. The network will kick things off September 14 with “The Jay Leno Show’ as previously announced.
“The Biggest Loser” will return Tuesday, September 15 with a two-hour installment. That Thursday will also mark the premieres of the network’s new Thursday night comedy lineup with Saturday Night Live Weekend Update kicking things off at 8 p.m., followed by “Parks and Recreation” at 8:30 p.m., “The Office” at 9 p.m. and “Community” at 9:30 p.m. NBC is holding “30 Rock” till October 15 in an effort to drive some viewers to “Community.”
“Heroes” will return September 21, with the new show “Parenthood” launching September 23, and “Law & Order” and “Southland” returning Fridays starting September 25.
“Saturday Night Live” will premiere September 26.
NBC’s full premiere lineup is below.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
7-8:15 p.m. – “Football Night in America”
8:15-11 p.m. – “NBC Sunday Night Football”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 14
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW” (Series Premiere)
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15
8-10 p.m. – “The Biggest Loser”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
8-8:30 p.m. - “Saturday Night Live Weekend Update Thursday”
8:30-9 p.m. - “Parks and Recreation”
9-9:30 p.m. – “The Office”
9:30-10 p.m. – “COMMUNITY” (series premiere – moves to Thursdays 8-8:30 p.m. on October 8; “30 Rock” returns October 15, 9:30-10 p.m.)
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21
8-10 p.m. – “Heroes” (two hour premiere, then TRAUMA premieres 9-10 p.m. Monday, September 28)
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
8-9 p.m. – “PARENTHOOD” (Series Premiere)
9-10 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
8-9 p.m. – “Law & Order”
9-10 p.m. – “Southland”
10-11 p.m. – “THE JAY LENO SHOW”
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26
8-9 p.m. – “Dateline NBC”
9-10 p.m. – “TRAUMA” (encore broadcast)
10-11 p.m. – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (encore broadcast)
11:30 p.m. - 1:00 a.m. - “Saturday Night Live”
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