Voxant Newsroom Blog

New Movie Friday: Awake and Teeth

This Friday I wanted to highlight two movies that have caught my interest. The first one is "Awake," a film about being a man who stays awake while being operated on. Yikes! Talk about a nightmare. I'm sure that's most people's biggest fear when they go under the knife. But our ancient ancestors sure took surgery with little or no anesthesia in stride.

The film stars Hayden Christensen and Jessica Alba in the lead roles, which is certainly a cause for concern. Though Alba is hot like fire, she's often times an omen for any movie she stars in. And Hayden Christensen? Did you see the "Star Wars" flicks? Stiff acting has never had a better advocate.

I'm not the only one who's not a Christensen fan. Roger Moore of "The Orlando Sentinel" slams Christensen as the pariah of this film, so Alba can rest easy. Check out his review.

Also, there's a quirky movie that's getting released in NYC and LA today called "Teeth." This film is about a girl who discovers that her vagina, actually has teeth. YIKES! Talk about a turn-off for men. Her vagina is literally a venus fly trap. If you're able to catch this movie, let us know how it is. I'm sure it'll create quite the buzz at the water cooler.

-Ricky

Back when Michael Jackson was cool (and black...)

December 1, 1982 was a life-changing day in the world. No, this wasn't the day the Berlin Wall came down. Nope, this wasn't the day that South Africa ended apartheid. Nah, this wasn't the day that the mullet came in style. December 1, 1982 is the day that Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, released the amazing, smashing, fantastic, radical, glorious album that is "Thriller."

If I sound like I'm gushing over the album like a schoolgirl with a crush, it's because I am. And I'm not embarrassed by it either. As we've all heard before, "Thriller" is one of the best-selling records of all time, yada, yada. But man, the music was what knocked me out. You had "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "PYT" all on one album. It was an album that had jam after jam. And at the time, Michael was a black man achieving all of this worldwide success and winning all of these accolades. He has unfortunately since, turned into an ancient-looking, cadaver-like white woman. But let's not ruin the nostalgia of old Mike by bringing up the current, tortured-looking Mike.

To commemorate the monumental release of the album, the BBC sent one of its own to a dance studio some steps from the hair-raising (for its time) video, "Thriller." She's not a gifted dancer to say the least, but the results are amusing.

I hope everyone moonwalks this Saturday in honor of "Thriller" Day! Happy "Thriller" Day, everybody.
-Ricky

PETA disrobes for a beary good cause

It seems like whenever PETA members want to protest, they've gotta get naked and show some skin. While I'm all for showing what you got, I have to wonder whether it's an effective tactic.

Either way, I've got to give these  crazy folks credit. They stood out in the cold in nothing but their undies, or their skivies as they say in the UK, and stood up for what they believed in, holding some very threatening signs I mad.

While I'm not necessarily anti-fur myself I kind of sympathize with their cause. It's kinda creepy to wear an animal's skin and fur. It has a morbid feel to it.  No offense, J. Lo. For example, when the guy from "Silence of the Lambs" was making masks out of human skin, that was kind of morbid and creepy... 

Check out these images from the protest.

-Ricky

Much Ado About "The Golden Compass"

Watch out, Conservative Christians are on the rampage again and they're steaming mad.  No, they're not going after gay marriage, this time they're going after children's literature/movies.

"The Golden Compass" is set to open in theaters this week and its upcoming release has generated quite the buzz. The film is based on a book that is in the same league as "The Chronicles of Narnia" and other children's fantasy literature. "The Golden Compass" is the first part of  a trilogy and has enjoyed a lot of success in the UK and the US. The problem that CCs have with it though, is that the book was written by an atheist and they believe it has subtle and not so subtle undertones that promote atheism. So now this multi million dollar film starring Daniel Craig, Nicole Kidman and CGI animals, is at the center of firestorm set off by the affronted Catholic League.

You know what happens whenever the CC community gets riled up about something: The media gets two talking heads and has them shout at each other. Problem solved! Watch this rousing clip from CBS. The two pundits really drew out the claws, they trade jabs over pedophile priests and atheist China.

I'm Catholic, albeit not a really observant one, and this really shouldn't be a big deal. So what if the movie does promote atheism? If you don't like what the movie stands for, don't watch it. There are Christian undertones in many popular films, like "The Matrix" for example, and yet you didn't see atheists protesting those films. Part of the problem with religions is that they believe they have a right to not be offended. We saw this before with Islam when the controversy over the Danish Muhammad cartoons came out. This is a free world and everyone is allowed to believe what they want, provided they do not cause bodily harm to any other free individuals. If Hollywood wants to make a movie promoting Satan, that is well within its rights. In fact, I think they already did. It's called "Glitter."

Anyway I think Daniel Craig summed it up best when he responded to the controversy about the film in this CBS video: "I think the Catholic Church will survive." Amen.

- Ricky

TechWednesday: Amazon Kindle lights an eBook fire

Amazon's new Kindle eBook reader is causing a lot of stir in the tech world right now. Some love it, some hate it but everyone wants to try one. Here's an AP report on the Kindle and check out my full take on it at my other Voxant blog, News2020 Project.

- Evan

Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins show us the rain is bad

Anyone who saw the Monday Night Football game saw two teams roughing it out in a sloppy, soupy mess that was supposed to be an NFL-caliber field. Many fans think rainy games are the most amazing things to watch, and therefore they must be the most fun to play in. The truth is from the players' standpoint, rainy games make for the worst games.

There was a time when rainy and sloppy football games were fun and exciting. This was back in the 50s-60s when the game of football was very different. Back in the day, football at all levels was dominated by the rushing attack. Teams would routinely grind out 7-3 games and if the ground was torn up it didn’t affect either team’s game plan. 

The modern game is predicated off of speed and precision, not brute force. Even a power team like the Pittsburgh Steelers employs finesse tactics to execute its offense. Due to year-round training, there are fewer gaps in athletic ability among players. This makes technique the difference-maker between a player dominating his opponent and being dominated.

When a field is as bad as Heinz Field was on Monday night, players cannot find cleats with long enough studs, to get traction in the ground. If a player is struggling to get traction they will have problems getting into their stance, they will struggle getting in and getting out of their breaks. This means players are slowing down, taking shorter steps and they are being mindful of where they place their feet.  When a player has to think about every step they take rather than doing what comes to them naturally, performance is bound to suffer. Football is at its core, an instinctive sport. When a player is forced to second guess their instincts throughout the game, it makes it difficult and even dangerous to play.

The fiasco on Monday night is a perfect example of why more teams are transitioning to smart turf and underground pumping systems. By using technology to their advantage, teams are able to improve the conditions on the field and in return improve the quality of play on the field. Although some traditional fans miss the old school mud fest, they will be thankful when their favorite player doesn’t tear his ACL on a sloppy track, or when their starting fantasy wide receiver can still get open and score some points. Rain games just are not as fun as they look.

-Dumont

Music Tuesday: Seal's "Systems"

Seal, Heidi Klum's husband and father of two of her children, has decided to emerge from his wife's "Project Runway" shadow and return to the music scene with his new album "Systems." But I'm not so sure that I like what I'm hearing. I applaud Seal in many ways for daring to be different. He's a black man, and the standard these days for most mainstream black singers is to sing R&B, be a rapper or pose as a thug and still try to pass yourself off as an R&B singer. Seal does none of the above. He uses his ethereal voice to sing aching rock songs, pulsing electronica jams or tear-jerking piano ballads. And that's been his formula since he debuted on the scene in the early 90s. If it ain't broke, don't fix it seems to be his mantra.

Check out his new single "Amazing."

The song is clearly Seal's attempt to revive the same success of his debut songs "Crazy" and "Killer"  -- Sidenote: Enjoy a flashback to Seal's awesomely bad video for "Killer" here --  but I don't think he's successful at evoking the strength of his earlier efforts. There's something about "Amazing" that is very dated, and not in a good retro way. Stuart Price, who produced Madonna's latest album "Confessions On A Dancefloor", falls flat on this collaboration with Seal. The track lacks edge and has little hope of catching on here in the US, although I wouldn't be surprised if it got picked up as a song for a couple of car commercials. It's pretty much perfect as non-intrusive background noise.

It seems to me like Seal has been absent from the music scene for a long while; I still thought his last release was the "Space Jam" song "Fly Like An Eagle." But Seal's actually been busy, or should I say been getting busy, with Victoria's Secret model and all-around knockout Heidi Klum. The two got married and have had two children together. Seal even let Heidi duet with him on his new album. (It is as bad and schmaltzy as you imagine it to be.) Seal talks about Klum and how becoming a father has impacted his music and creativity in this interview with the AP.

Back to the music, I respect Seal's past work but I'm not sure this new effort has what it takes to keep the train going. His new single calls itself "Amazing," but it's rather average.
-Ricky

And you thought your neighbor's Christmas decorations were tacky

What says 'spirit of Christmas' more than gaudy decadence? That's, right: nothing. (Sorry, folks, but the whole 'generosity' thing went out with leaded gasoline.)

This year, Japan has shown itself to be the most Christmasy place of all - and they did it without a single Salvation Army bucket or Bill O'Reilly rant. We're talking $2 million of jewel-encrusted holiday cheer, people. Now that's how you celebrate the...ah...uh...

Wait, what's Christmas about again?

- Evan

Happy Thanksgiving!

In light of the upcoming holiday feast, enjoy this editor's pick of Thanksgiving-related news. We've got Bush pardoning turkeys, Thanksgiving yoga and some cool recipes for all you wannabe chefs.

-Ricky

Venezuelan lawmaker gets slap-happy

Don't mess with this mama bear! A lawmaker from Hugo Chavez's party laid the smack down on a journalist who she said insulted her son. Ay mamacita!

I have several questions. First of all, do all lawmakers in Venezuela dress like around-the-way chicks? She looks like she popped in for an interview on her way to the grocery store. Secondly, what do they feed the people in Hugo Chavez's party to make them all so picante? These people are hotheads and ready to go toe-to-toe with anyone, from the king of Spain to your local TV journalist.

Check out the slapfest for yourself, courtesy of the AP. It's even more of a treat if you understand Spanish. She calls him a coward, miserable, and he warns her that they're live and she defiantly yells, "I DON'T CARE!"

-Ricky