A week with the flu means a lot of time on the couch with a bucket by your head and a hand on the remote. So while that forsaken virus turned my body into a achy, feverish mess, at least I got in some quality time with the DVD player, mostly watching the entire first season of The Wire. But being couch-bound also gave me some time to discover four other things to be kind of obsessed with.
JOSHUA ON DVD
I had been excited for this Sundance creepfest about an Omen-like child since I saw the trailer about a year ago, but it never really came to a theater near me for any extended amount of time and it slipped off my radar. But then, low and behold, there it was staring at me from Netflix’s “New Releases” section a couple weeks back and I hit the hallowed “Move to Top of Queue” button. I got around to watching it this week and it actually lives up to that trailer. What’s so great about Joshua is that the kid isn’t possessed—rather, the evil is all of his own accord. And his actions never verge on unexplainable or supernatural, they’re just terrifyingly disturbing. It’s akin to Rosemary’s Nine-Year-Old but with a distinct modern yuppy twist carried out by the driven-crazy parents (played by Sam Rockwell and Vera Fermiga.) Someone else please see it so that we can discuss that final scene: am I interpreting it right? Or does it even matter?
JOSHUA ON DVD
I had been excited for this Sundance creepfest about an Omen-like child since I saw the trailer about a year ago, but it never really came to a theater near me for any extended amount of time and it slipped off my radar. But then, low and behold, there it was staring at me from Netflix’s “New Releases” section a couple weeks back and I hit the hallowed “Move to Top of Queue” button. I got around to watching it this week and it actually lives up to that trailer. What’s so great about Joshua is that the kid isn’t possessed—rather, the evil is all of his own accord. And his actions never verge on unexplainable or supernatural, they’re just terrifyingly disturbing. It’s akin to Rosemary’s Nine-Year-Old but with a distinct modern yuppy twist carried out by the driven-crazy parents (played by Sam Rockwell and Vera Fermiga.) Someone else please see it so that we can discuss that final scene: am I interpreting it right? Or does it even matter?
“BETTER THAN THE BEST” by MURSUntil this song came along and the talented rapper name-checked himself, I always thought that Murs rhymed with “purrs.” But no, it’s Murs like “Murse,” the male-skewing purse from Seinfeld. Oh well, he can still take a sample and make the most out of it, as he does here with The Four Tops’ “I Can’t Help Myself.” Over the familiar Motown beat, Murs lets loose a list of reasons why he’s the best rapper in the game. Keeping it light, though, it comes across as more of a fun, tongue-in-cheek boast than anything that would lead a listener to wonder if he has a Kanye-sized ego. Harmless, winking lyrics over a great, recognizable sample: makes for the perfect rap song to usher in spring.
THE POSTER FOR THE BANK JOB
When I saw the trailer for this heist thriller a couple months ago, it seemed good enough, another Jason Statham vehicle that was probably going to be more Crank than In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale. But then I found out its actually based on one of Britain's most notorious corruption cases and my interest grew even more. Then this cooler-than-the-other-side-of-the-pillow poster came along, evoking great Steve McQueen actioners from the Golden era. (Actually, I can't find an example, but you get the idea.) The beauty of the car, the framing, the light playing at angles, and the retro-simplicity of it makes it the best throwback poster since the one for Out of Sight in 1998.
JAN TERRI ON YOUTUBE
I’m not sure what happened in 1993 Chicago for Jan Terri to end up with a number of “professionally made” music videos, but here they all are on YouTube for our enjoyment and bewilderment. I hear that Marilyn Manson named Terri as his favorite female singer and I can definitely see how with her unconventional looks, out-of-leftfield lyrics, and obvious speech impediment, she could be a freakshow number for the modern age. And, well, that’s kind of how it plays out. The ditty below, “C’mon little brother” (which heavily incorporates “Frera Jaca”—and why not?) is so perfectly early 90s and Terri simply launches it into the realm of absurdly fascinating. And you may get "Don't you wanna take a....cruise trip??" stuck in your head for awhile.
JAN TERRI ON YOUTUBE
I’m not sure what happened in 1993 Chicago for Jan Terri to end up with a number of “professionally made” music videos, but here they all are on YouTube for our enjoyment and bewilderment. I hear that Marilyn Manson named Terri as his favorite female singer and I can definitely see how with her unconventional looks, out-of-leftfield lyrics, and obvious speech impediment, she could be a freakshow number for the modern age. And, well, that’s kind of how it plays out. The ditty below, “C’mon little brother” (which heavily incorporates “Frera Jaca”—and why not?) is so perfectly early 90s and Terri simply launches it into the realm of absurdly fascinating. And you may get "Don't you wanna take a....cruise trip??" stuck in your head for awhile.
2 comments:
The end of "Joshua" is that Joshua's master-plan was to be with his uncle. Because he's gay. Joshua's uncle is gay, and Joshua himself is gay, and that's why he took all the horrific actions he did-- so he could be with his uncle. If you don't believe me, watch the ending again and listen to that falsetto.
haha ok, yeah, that's kind of what I thought it was implying but it was still kind of vague. I thought maybe it was cause his uncle is the only one that would play piano with him.
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