AP Ticker delivers a stinging eulogy for recently departed PA congressman John Murtha, plus he reveals his Olympic man-crush on Bob Costas.
CINEMA: New Doors Documentary, Narrated By Johnny Depp, Set For Theatrical Release April 9th
WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE uncovers historic and previously unseen footage of the illustrious rock quartet and provides new insight into the revolutionary impact of its music and legacy. Directed by award-winning writer/director Tom DiCillo and narrated by Johnny Depp, the film is a riveting account of the band’s history. Said Depp, “Watching the hypnotic, hitherto unreleased footage of Jim, John, Ray and Robby, I felt like I experienced it all through their eyes. As a rock n’ roll documentary, or any kind of documentary for that matter, it simply doesn’t get any better than this. What an honor to have been […]
CINEMA: Starling In The Slipstream
FISH TANK (2009, directed by Andrea Arnold, 123 minutes, U.K.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC The metaphors in Andrea Arnold’s acclaimed coming-of-age story Fish Tank are so blatant they threaten to smother the film itself. The “fish tank” of the title is an ugly public housing complex that’s home to Mia, a fifteen year old brooding, feral teen who wanders around friendless, vulnerable and spitting profanities beneath overcast English skies. Arnold’s direction keeps the camera tightly on the first-time actress Katie Jarvis, who plays Mia, trapping her in the claustrophobically square frame. Often shot in the blue light of night, […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: Snowpocalypse, Now!
With your host AP Ticker.
ACADEMY AWARDS: Who Didn’t See This Coming?
Best director nominees included James Cameron for “Avatar” and Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”; best actor nominees included George Clooney (“Up in the Air”) and Jeff Bridges (“Crazy Heart”); and best actress nominees included Sandra Bullock (“The Blind Side”) and Meryl Streep (“Julie & Julia”). FRESH AIR The singer, songwriter and producer T-Bone Burnett says his approach to making music is simple: “Just listen until it sounds right.” Burnett has been getting it right for a long time, and his latest project is the critically acclaimed film Crazy Heart, for which he wrote several songs for the main character […]
CINEMA: A Bold, Fresh Piece Of Shit-Talking
BY GREG ADOMAITIS If there is such a thing as a Fox News fanboys they showed up at the box office this weekend in full force for Bill O’Reilly and Glenn Beck. Their “Bold and Fresh” tour brought this unholy trinity of truth-y infotainment under one roof for five live dates and was streamed as a nationwide cinecast. The tour’s name is taken from O’Reilly’s latest book “A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity” and brings the two anchors together for two hours of moonbat-bashing and wingnut meme-spinning in the no spin zone. Their friendship began when Beck left CNN early […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: The Week That Was
With your host, A.P. Ticker.
CINEMA: Children Of The Korn
THE WHITE RIBBON (2008, directed by Michael Haneke, 144 minutes, Germany) The school teacher’s narration at the opening of Michael Haneke’s high-art horror film The White Ribbon frames the story as a haunted memory. That perfectly describes how the winner last year’s Palme d’Or nestles in the memory a week after its viewing. The White Ribbon‘s deliberate rhythms and austere black and white images (courtesy of cinematographer Christian Berger) imprint themselves in the mind like a series of ancient daguerreotypes, evoking the fine arts while simultaneously resembling an Ingmar Bergman rebooting of the Children of the Corn franchise. The film’s […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: The Week That Was
With your host, A.P. Ticker.
CINEMA: The Dude Elides*
[Illustration by DAN JOHNSON] CRAZY HEART (2009, directed by Scott Cooper, 111 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC A great country song finds strength in simplicity, you can guess the lyric’s rhymes and sing along with the melody on the very first time you hear it. Crazy Heart, a new character study showcasing Jeff Bridges as an aging musician, is true to the form: it is weary-hearted tale that rolls out plot twists that you can spot from two verses away. Bridges brings his laconic wit to the character of Bad Blake, a once-popular country performer and songwriter (somewhere […]
SCRAPPLE TV NEWS: The Week That Was
With your host A. P. Ticker.
CELEBUTARD: Cybil Shepherd’s Son Arrested For Robbing Fellow Passengers On Flight To Philly
STAR: Cybill Shepherd’s son [pictured above in his mother’s arms, circa 1987] was grounded at Philadelphia International Airport Tuesday after being accused of stealing from the carry-on bags of his fellow passengers. Cyrus “Zack” Shepherd-Oppenheim – the 22-year-old son of the Moonlighting star – rifled through the luggage of two sleeping travelers during a flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia on Monday night, two witnesses told authorities. In one case, he allegedly stole a Canon from a woman and dumped the rest of her things – including a makeup bag – in the trash can of a plane bathroom. From […]