“It’s not like the hipsters have united and decided, ‘This is the best band,’ ” said Brian Aubert, singer-guitarist of Silver Lake indie-rock group the Silversun Pickups, which covered Joy Division’s “Shadowplay” on an early demo tape. “It’s always been the best band. A band you found out about through other people. It was never pushed on you.”

In probably the best shot and cinematic motion picture of the year, Control is not the story of Ian Curtis and/or Joy Division, but of Ian Curtis in Joy Division. Based on the book Touching From a Distance, by Curtis’ wife, Deborah, the film follows a teenaged Ian and his androgynous David Bowie influence to a Sex Pistol show that inspire him to join/form a band called Warsaw, which would quickly become Joy Division. We see Ian played brilliantly by Sam Riley, cope with his epilepsy and the rise of the band’s popularity. Ian is displayed as cold, unaffectionate and isolated only to get his feelings across through his lyrics. Samantha Morton played Deborah the loving wife who tired to help Ian thru his desolate state. In-between the excellent music scenes, we see Ian at his day job in an employment office and his affair with a Belgian fan, Annik Honore. On the eve of their first US tour, in the early hours of Sunday, May 18, 1980, Ian Curtis hanged himself in his kitchen,

To the diehards, most of the story was already known. The formation of the band, the record contract signed in blood by factory record label founder Tony Wilson, the mistress Annik Honroe, Ian’s epilepsy, remaining members forming the band New Order, etc. This biopic tried to congest as much feelings as possible and might have been slightly longer than it should because of it. Since there were numerous scenes of Ian by himself, such liberties were taken on his affairs. The film is not all despair. There are particular funny moments especially when band manager Rob Gretton (played by Toby Kebbell) is on screen.

Ian, due to the nature of his death, will forever be a cult figure. As a huge Joy Division fan, I can attest to the band’s continuing influence on music today. Much mystery clouds the band because they didn’t do interviews or talk with the press. They just played songs and those songs are truly remarkable. Control might be a slight tilt for a fanboy, but the moving pictures and especially the music can be enjoyed by all.

Joy Division – Disorder

Eva Mendes, Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix and Robert Duvall star in this crime thriller based in late 1980′s Brooklyn. I don’t know if I’ll get a chance to watch “We Own the Night” this weekend, but I am looking forward to checking this flick out soon. Mostly because Joaquin Phoenix is frickin awesome. I had decided that I wanted to watch this movie about 15 seconds into the trailer. Just because JP looks badass. Or maybe because he reminds me of an uncle I used to hang out with in the 80′s.

For all of you who saw the second half of Grindhouse and thought to yourself, man I wish this was longer then today is your lucky day. Death Proof comes to DVD in a two-disc set, featuring an extended and unrated version of the film that runs about 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release. That’s right an extra 30 minutes of Quentin Tarantino gently musing about the love of his own dialogue. For the rest of us who rather watch Planet Terror, we’ll have to wait till sometime in October.

It seems to be a tough time in Hollywood nowadays for relationship comedies. There hasn’t been a good one in hell, I don’t know, quite a while. (I haven’t seen Knocked Up yet.) Following producer Judd Apatow’s formula of heart and raunch, Superbad Screenwriters Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg created a funny, any-generation-can-relate movie through what some would call a “bromance.”

Superbad is about a twisted interdependent friendship with separation anxiety. On top of that we have a very raunchy-tendered filled comedy with abundant dick jokes. It captures the awkward social scene of High School and is more authentic than other of its type in years. Evan (played by Michael Cera of Arrested Development fame) is the sweet, smart, and seemingly always terrified one. Seth (played by Jonah Hill who has been compared to John Belushi) is the sexually obsessed, foul-mouthed agitator. They are best friends who complement each other and can’t seem to separate. The two are joined by the prerequisite geek Fogell (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse) who obtains a fake ID and adopts the persona of a Hawaiian organ donor named “McLovin.” All three have love interests that, until this one night, haven’t made the effort to pursue. They hope to reverse their sexual misfortunes in one panic-driven night. Bill Hader and Seth Rogen play suburban keystone cops who become intertwined with the trio. I don’t want to go into anymore details because it’s best to just see for yourself. In a movie with tons of dick jokes, I don’t want to be a dick by giving any of them away. The great thing about Superbad is the barrage of jokes. If one doesn’t work, another is just around the corner. Some come so fast, as in how a word is spoken, that you might miss it. Although Cera’s timing is dead-on, I kind of wonder what would’ve been if he played the Seth character instead of Evan. Arrested Development might have typecast him as the shy, awkward nice kid and would’ve liked him playing someone totally opposite.

The funny thing about life is you create these unnecessary expectations and when they are eventually met, it might not be something you wanted all along. Superbad is a very funny movie that understands this. It’s unnecessary to put “teen” in front of this smart comedy.

GOOD LUCK CHUCK – Trailer

The stoner buddy flick returns to theaters sometime in 2008. Be sure you make that stop at White Castle before and not after the movie.

From IGN.com,

Producer Mark Gordon (Saving Private Ryan) has partnered with Pharrell Williams, World Events Prods. and producers Mark Costa and Ford Oelman to make a live-action feature film of Voltron: Defender of the Universe. Williams also will reportedly score the film. Like Transformers, Voltron is a giant morphing robot from the 1980s popularized by toys and an animated TV series. The project was scripted by Justin Marks, who has since gone on to script Super Max and the new Street Fighter movie.

Bobby has been waiting for this news for awhile and now it’s confirmed.  It’s still in preproduction but its better than nothing.

Here’s a link to the entire article from IGN.com about upcoming cartoons that are being made into live action films.

After 18 seasons and countless rumors, the gold-platinum standard of satirical television has finally made the leap to the big screen. Only the Simpsons can have an opening sequence mocking their faithful who has supported them all these years. The Simpsons Movie has a strong 25-minute opening start, a bit sluggish middle, and a quasi-competent resolute end. It had a long episodic feeling which wasn’t a knock on the movie, but a create to the well-written series. The movie’s plot is an impending environmental catastrophe and a pig that’s the tipping point. Yup, that’s it. You can make a case about environmental and religious ideology, but that’s a philosophical debate for those who need to chill a bit more in life. Putting the cynical moneymaking profit motive aside, the series would have not lasted this long and the movie wouldn’t had been made if it wasn’t for one important central point. It had to be funny. The level of such hilarity will be debated for years to come.

The Simpsons Movie was really good in its honest faith attempt to be broad enough for non-casual/casual and diehard fans to enjoy. There are a lot of funny moments throughout the movie. I particularly enjoyed the “Opener,” Bart skateboarding in the buff, Ned making hot cocoa, Homer’s style of fishing, Crazy Cat Lady washing her cats, and FOX’s annoying plugs for shows during a show. There are lots of sight gags if you’re quick enough to catch them. Yet, longtime fans would probably agree with me that the cast of thousands could have been better utilized. The nuclear family dominated almost all of the screen time. The wacky town folks that we love and have followed since the show’s inception are cast aside as window dressing. A cameo from a much praised two-time Oscar winner, but no Sideshow Bob? Also, you don’t have to be a diehard to get that Rainier Wolfcastle is Arnold Schwarzenegger, so they could’ve easily put Rainier in the flick.

Yet in typical Simpsons fashion, the movie does have a lot of heart. No matter how much Homer blunders, the family still rallies around him. It’s pretty much like every family. A bit dysfunctional, but very caring and enduring. A touching scene in which Homer falls on an ice patch while a Carpenters song played had me misty eyed. Props to the writers for paying homage to the Springfield Gorge, which was made legendary thru Season Two’s episode, “Bart the Daredevil.” The Simpsons Movie is not better than any of the series magnificent episodes, but like the overwhelming majority of their episodes, it’s enjoyable enough to view multiple times. And that’s the brilliance of The Simpsons. You can watch them as many times as you like and it’s still pretty funny. As a longtime Simpsons fan, I’ll gladly take that.

Oh, and Transformers was fantastic. We’ll work on a review for that, I’m sure.

UPDATE: More pictures from my second visit added.

Well bobby beat me to the post on the Kwik E Mart. But I was one of those flocking to the 7 Eleven on 42nd street last night. There were several people dropping by and taking pics as was I. Dujib, the Kwik E Mart employee told me that they were the only store in NYC with the Simpsons marketing. I got a collectors Squishee cup along with a Homer Simpson magnetic straw. I had the Woo Hoo Vanilla Squishee and lets say it wasn’t woo hooing in my stomach. I dumped most of it and kept the cup.

More pics of my trip after the jump