I can’t help but be interested in any movie that pairs Matt Damon with director Steven Soderbergh. After all, they worked together on one of my favorite movies of all time, Ocean’s Eleven. They’re together again for The Informant!, the tale of an incompetent whistleblower (based on a true story). It looks like it could be pretty funny:

The Informant! hits theaters October 9th.

Sometimes a song’s sentimental associations make enjoying a cover of it almost inconceivable. That song is so embedded in your brain in it’s original incarnation that you just can’t accept any changes.

It’s a long story, but there was a night in high school that involved a girl, fish sticks, a car wash, and finding out that dishwashing soap + flour = glue. It was one of the most memorable nights of my young life. And Simon & Garfunkel’s “Cecilia”, on a nearly endless loop, provided a soundtrack to the evening.

So I’m understandably a bit skeptical when I see someone try to cover the song. Especially a band I’ve never heard of. But California’s Local Natives manage to pull of an excellent performance, in a back yard even. Check it out:

Just ignore the subtitles in this gem, and feast your eyes and ears on the awesomeness that is the international trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds:

I’m not always a big Ricky Gervais fan. Some of his stuff is really funny, but other stuff falls flat for me. His upcoming movie The Invention of Lying looks like it might fall somewhere in the middle. It’s got a good premise though. It’s set in a world where everyone has to tell the truth, all the time. As you can imagine, that leads to some awkward situations. But Gervais’ character figures out how to lie. Since everyone always tells the truth, people assume he’s telling the truth, even when he’s lying. See, I told you it was a good premise. Check out the trailer:

The Invention of Lying comes to theaters September 25th.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: three like-minded musicians form a band, and as part of their schtick they all take the same last name. Then they work that last name into the band’s name. They proceed to do things their own way, with attitude. Eventually their music gets noticed and they take New York by storm. You’ve heard this before right? It’s The Ramones, right?

Nope. Instead of long-haired ugly dudes from New York, this is a trio of Southern chicks. Where The Ramones’ music was straightforward and easy to define, their music shifts from song to song, jumping genres and defying expectations. They do share The Ramones’ spirit though: they’re doing things their way, and they don’t care what you think about it. They’re Those Darlins, and you’d best take notice, because if they have their way they’re taking over the music world.
Read the rest of this entry »

Billy Mays has made his last pitch. The man behind such Made for TV products as Oxy Clean, Mighty Putty, and Orange Glo was found dead in his home this morning. He was 50. The cause of death has yet to be determined.

Mays rose to stardom after he began pitching Oxy Clean. His distinctive style won fans and critics, and made him ripe for parody. Despite the fact that some people saw him as over-the-top, his approach undeniably worked, as the products he pitched sold enormous quantities.

Whether you loved or hated him, you have to admit the world is a quieter, yet less interesting, place without him.

If you’re a regular reader it won’t come as a surprise that I’m a big Bishop Allen fan. So any chance I get I’m going to post about them. Well here’s a chance. The band released a homemade-looking video for their infectious song “Shanghaid”, featuring them sitting around an apartment, and bunnies. Hey, it’s hard to go wrong with bunnies, right? Check it out, and don’t blame me when the song gets stuck in your head:

via You Ain’t No Picasso (which is named after a Bishop Allen song…)

Triumph the Insult Comic Dog is the Don Rickles of dogs. He’s hilarious because he’s mean. Really mean. His coverage of the uber-nerds camping out to see Star Wars Episode II is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen. So when he heads to the Bonnaroo Hippie Fest Music and Arts Festival, I get excited. Check it out as he makes some new, but dirty, friends:

Part 1:

Part 2:

How cool would it be to play Tiger Woods at golf? Probably not that cool, because you don’t stand a chance in hell at winning. But how cool would it be to play Tiger Woods at Tiger Woods Golf? Now we’re talking, since he’s probably a mere mortal at the game.

Jimmy Fallon put this to the test on his show, taking on Tiger on the 11th hole of Bethpage Black (the course Tiger just played for the US Open). Would he be able to show Tiger up at his own game? Or would Tiger prove that he’s a golf master, no matter the medium? Watch and find out:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.