Quantcast
Channel: Culture & Arts
Viewing all 18505 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

The 6 Best Horror Films On Netflix, According To Horror Fave Eli Roth

October 28, 2014, 1:47 pm
$
0
0
Halloween is around the corner, which means it's time to start finalizing those horror film viewing lists. Likely among your picks will be something from the oeuvre of Eli Roth, whose work as a writer, director or producer on films like "Aftershock" and Netflix series "Hemlock Grove" has made him one of the most prominent voices in the genre. But if you've seen all of his work and want to get even more creative with your viewing, check out Roth's personal horror film favorites, "once you've watched 'Hemlock Grove,' 'Aftershock' and 'The Sacrament,'" according to the director. Here are the six movies Roth says everyone should watch on Halloween:

hemlock grove

"Dust Devil" and "Hardware"

Roth says: "Richard Stanley is a special filmmaker for horror fans, he came out with these two movies that were hard to find for years and really played more as art films than horror films. I recommend them both because he's a fascinating filmmaker with a small but terrific body of work. He was fired off 'The Island of Dr. Moreau' and actually snuck back onto the set hiding in makeup as a monster so he could watch Marlon Brando drive director John Frankenheimer crazy. His films are an acquired taste, don't expect mainstream Hollywood scares, but if you're open to something interesting and different they're great discoveries."

"Galaxy of Terror"

Roth says: "I just love this movie, I saw it when I was 11 and could never get over the worm rape. Roger Corman at his best making an 'Alien' ripoff. You might also appreciate the production design -- it was done by a young aspiring director named James Cameron. Fascinating to watch the film now knowing that Cameron would go on to make 'Aliens' five years later."

"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer"

Roth says: "This movie is just upsetting, period. It's hard to watch, but you can't take your eyes off it. See if you can watch it and walk home alone after. Not gonna happen. One of the most disturbing performances ever, with one of my favorite last shots in a horror film."

"Ichi the Killer"

Roth says: "Takashi Miike's adaptation of this manga is absolutely nuts. I was so into this movie I dressed up as the villain Kakihara at the premiere of 'Cabin Fever,' calling myself KakiharEli. One person in the audience got the reference: me. One of the wettest goriest most amazing splatter films ever made. Not for the weak of stomach."

"Nightmare City"

Roth says: "This is one of my all time favorite films. In fact, I'm running my 35mm print of it at the New Beverly Cinema on Halloween in Los Angeles if you want to see it on the big screen. It's the first running zombie movie, which is ironic, because it was also released under the title 'City of the Walking Dead.' It's the first movie where the infected have the presence of mind to rip the beautiful nurse's shirt off before biting her. It's a fast-moving, non-stop ride with one of the most inexplicable endings ever, but the movie's just amazing. And it stars Mexican movie star Hugo Stiglitz -- and yes, that is where Quentin Tarantino got the name for that character in 'Inglourious Basterds.' [Hugo's] performance is amazing, carved out stone, really. Watch this movie and imagine how confusing it was to Mexican audiences as to why Tarantino would possibly name a kick-ass German Nazi killer after this guy. It literally makes no sense, and that's also what makes the movie so fun. That and Stiglitz's trench coat and beard. Nineteen-eighties Italian horror at its best from the director of "Cannibal Ferox." Lenzi is a master, seek his movies out. This is a great place to start."
↧
Search

Office Stock Video Footage Set To Rap Music Is Hilariously Creepy

October 28, 2014, 1:47 pm
$
0
0
It's nice to see someone finally getting use out of the strange and bizarre world of stock video footage.

There's not a person among us who watches boring educational or industrial films made of stock footage and doesn't think, "Where on earth is the rap soundtrack?"

Well, here it is. Please, enjoy. Not that you have a choice.

H/T Gawker
↧
↧

9 Sandra Bullock Quotes That Prove She's The Most Relatable Woman In Hollywood

October 28, 2014, 1:52 pm
$
0
0
We can all learn something from the lovely and talented Sandra Bullock. On top of her lengthy and diverse film career, the Academy Award-winning actress is equally accomplished in her outstanding philanthropic work. In addition to donating $1 million to the Red Cross for Japan's earthquake and tsunami relief fund in 2011, the New Orleans resident has been honored for her charity work in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Plus, Bullock's down-to-earth personality just makes her someone we'd all want to grab a beer with.

Here are nine bits of wisdom from the one and only Sandra Bullock:

sandraquote1

sandra2

sandra3

sandra4

sandra

sandra5

sandra bullock

sandra9

sandra7
↧

What's New On Netflix In November 2014?

October 28, 2014, 3:08 pm
$
0
0
Halloween will be over soon, which means ... November! Now that all those hours you spent stressing about your costume are free, kick back and relax with these new titles hitting Netflix.

This list is tentative and subject to change. Not all titles may be available on the specified date. HuffPost Entertainment will attempt to keep the list as current as possible.

Movies and Specials
"Artifact"
"Babes In Toyland"
"Hell is for Heroes"
"Kingpin"
"The Rocketeer"
"Trading Mom"
"Spike"
"Total Recall"
"The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" (Nov. 3)
"Altman" (Nov. 4)
"Fading Gigalo" (Nov. 5)
"Doug Benson: Doug Dynasty" (Nov. 6)
"Virunga" (Nov. 7)
"Louder Than Words" (Nov. 8)
"Nebraska" (Nov. 8)
"Not Yet Begin the Flight" (Nov. 11)
"Quartet" (Nov. 11)
"La Bare" (Nov. 12)
"Small Town Santa" (Nov. 13)
"Chelsea Peretti: One of the Greats" (Nov 14)
"Sinbad: The Fifth Voyage" (Nov. 15)
"Trailer Park Boys Live At The North Pole" (Nov. 15)
"Dream House" (Nov. 16)
"Sabotage" (Nov. 19)
"Ida" (Nov. 22)
"Snowpiercer" (Nov. 22)
"Happy Christmas" (Nov. 23)
"Beyond the Edge" (Nov. 25)
"Running from Crazy" (Nov. 25)
"War Story" (Nov. 25)
"Bill Cosby 77' (Nov. 27)
"The One I Love" (Nov. 29)
"Trailer Park Boys 3: Don't Legalize it" (Nov. 29)
"About Cherry" (Nov. 30)
"The Grand Seduction" (Nov. 30)

TV Shows
"Bali," Season 1
"It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," Season 9
"Portlandia," Season 4
"Helix," Season 1 (Nov. 10)
"Doc Martin," Series 6 (Nov. 15)
"Workblood," Season 2 (Nov. 15)
"Lilyhammer," Season 3 (Nov. 21)
"Nikita," Season 4 (Nov. 22)
"Bomb Girls," Season 3 (Nov. 26)
"Turbo Fast," Season 1 (Nov. 26)
"VeggieTales in the House" (Nov. 26)
↧

Solid Proof Hunter Pence Is Actually The Cowardly Lion

October 30, 2014, 6:48 am
$
0
0
Hunter Pence won his second World Series as a member of the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, and he did so in style: Pence hit .444 during this year's fall classic with five runs batted in and seven runs scored. It's a performance that further proved the 31-year-old from Texas is the most San Francisco player Giants fans could ever want. But for our purposes, the spotlight on Pence also made clear that he should star in any forthcoming remake of "The Wizard of Oz." The hirsute outfielder's look is tailor-made for the Cowardly Lion. Step aside, Tom Brady:

↧
↧

Here Is Your Nasty, Glorious, Freewheeling Alternative History Of American Art

October 30, 2014, 6:48 am
$
0
0
It's possible to create a neat and tidy map tracing the progress of American art over the last 50 years. Yes, you can draw some sort of shape connecting Pop Art to Minimalism to Conceptual Art, highlighting the famed (often white and male) artists associated with each.

It's certainly viable, and often probable, that American art will be recorded and remembered in this way. But it's a stagnant, small portrait compared to the one offered by the RISD Museum in their current exhibition "What Nerve! Alternative Figures in American Art, from 1960 to the Present." Instead of rendering a crisp guide from Art Then to Art Now, RISD presents a manic smorgasbord of artists, collectives and influences from creative hubs across the country. It's messy, aggressively so, and we suspect the artists on view wouldn't prefer it any other way.

show girl
Karl Wirsum, Show Girl I, 1969. © The artist. Courtesy Karin Tappendorf.


"What Nerve!," curated by Dan Nadel and Judith Tannenbaum, features 180 artworks -- a multicolored serving of paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, and videos, all aware of and decidedly distant from the predominant trends of modern art, namely the focuses on irony and theory. The exhibition is divided into four mini-shows, each focusing on a different movement: the Hairy Who (Chicago, 1966–1969), Funk (San Francisco Bay Area, 1967), Destroy All Monsters (Ann Arbor, 1973–1977), and Forcefield (Providence, 1996–2003). The show also spotlights six artists working outside of (but still influential to) the groups above: H. C. Westermann, Jack Kirby, William Copley, Christina Ramberg, Gary Panter, and Elizabeth Murray.

It's a lot to cover, and the jam-packed exhibition overview mimicks the sprawling range and grotesque detail of the displayed artworks in intensity. The exhibited artists do converge in certain ways -- their interest in the body, sexuality, disguise and politics, and their inspired allegiance to outsider art forms like comics, folk art and pottery. As Ken Johnson described in The New York Times: "They’re everywhere, male and female, busily burrowing in a zillion directions. They’re painting, drawing, doodling, whittling, tinkering and making comic books, zines, animated videos and Internet whatsits -- all, it seems, with no objective other than to just keep doing whatever they’re doing."

nutt
Jim Nutt, Wow, 1968. © The artist. Collection Karl Wirsum and Lorri Gunn


The Hairy Who, composed of School of the Art Institute of Chicago grads including Jim Falconer, Art Green, Gladys Nilsson, Jim
Nutt, Suellen Rocca, and Karl Wirsum, created artworks defined by visual puns, buzzing colors and electric lines. Nutt's "Wow," made in 1968, depicts a squiggly red head who seems to dwell somewhere between Picasso's Cubism and "Rocko's Modern Life." The abstracted figure is at once babely and grotesque, with wrinkles, hairs and mysterious yellow spots adorning her lumpy, light flesh.

And then there's San Francisco's Funk Art scene, first defined by art historian Peter Selz at the University of California, Berkeley
in 1967. The Funk scene was wild, absurd, mangled and unpretentious. The works combatted the cool, plastic minimalism dominating California at the time. In the words of exhibited artist Jeremy Anderson, his work was "funky" because it "uses the idea that more is more, not the puritanical, bloodless, inhibiting notion that less is more."

The Funk artists on view, Robert Arneson, Joan Brown, William T. Wiley, Peter Saul, Roy De Forest, Robert Hudson, and Peter Voulkos, were never quite a cohesive "group," but all showed at the same Funk exhibition in 1967. Brown's 1962 sculpture "Fur Rat" is on view, a wood and chicken-wire creature inspired by a dream. The mutilated, rough skeleton beneath the critter's furry pelt serves as a metaphor for the human condition.

according
Niagara, Not According to Plan, 1974. © The artist. Collection Dan Nadel.


Ann Arbor's Destroy All Monsters was influenced by the Hairy Who and the Funk worlds, combining these artistic movements with aspects of sleaze culture to craft a particular brand of anarchic post-punk art. While Mike Kelley went on to become a contemporary art hero of Los Angeles, this exhibition focuses on his early work at the University of Michigan with Cary Loren, Niagara and Jim Shaw, much of which revolved around zines and musical performances.

Niagara's colored pencil piece "Not According to Plan," made in 1974, captures goth art at its very beginnings. Hippie-dippy goddesses frolic nude in a field of flowers, while a bleeding wound and lurking pair of scissors add a macabre element to the scene.

force
Forcefield, Installation view of Third Annual Roggabogga, Whitney Museum of American Art, 2002. © Hisham Bharoocha. Photo by Hisham Bharoocha.


And finally, there's Forcefield, a group of RISD students consisting of Mat Brinkman, Jim Drain, Leif Goldberg, and Ara Peterson, all centered around the sprawling Providence-based live/work space Fort Thunder. "Forcefield has to do with how it’s not this or that," founding member Ara Peterson explained to The Boston Globe. "It’s constantly failing at being one thing or another."

The group's output includes eight albums of music and a handful of singles and compilation tracks on cassette, vinyl, CD-R,
and CD. But the show-stealers are the knit ensembles donned during their performances; proto-Nick Cave's soundsuits, disguises as cozy as they are alien. The knits were displayed at the Whitney Biennial in 2002.

The whole show, as you may have guessed, is a doozy. It rambles on and squishes things together and mixes and matches disparate parts, as untamable and exaggerated as the works on view. "What Nerve!" opens up the narrow trajectory of art history into a dizzying knot of possible interconnections and influences, suggesting the shapes and lines formed by art history are works of art in themselves. Your eyes and your brain will be spinning for days.

"What Nerve!" runs until January 4, 2015 at the RISD Museum in Providence. See a preview below.

↧

Tom Dugan Examines The Heroic (And Comedic) Side Of Simon Wiesenthal In One-Man Show

October 30, 2014, 7:34 am
$
0
0
The legacy of one of World War II's most enigmatic figures is being brought to the New York stage in a unique and surprising new one-man play.

Written and performed by Tom Dugan, "Wiesenthal" is based on the life of Simon Wiesenthal, the Austrian-born Holocaust survivor who became world renowned for his fearless pursuit of Nazi war criminals in the years following World War II, when many of the fugitives had since immigrated to Latin America.

Currently in previews, the Off Broadway play -- which was directed by Jenny Sullivan and opens officially on Nov. 5 at New York's Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row -- takes place on the day before Wiesenthal's retirement as he welcomes a final group of Americans to his office in the Jewish Documentation Center in Vienna.





The 53-year-old Dugan, whose television credits include "Bones," "Friends," and "Curb Your Enthusiam," has always pushed the limits of the one-man play format, as evidenced by his other historical-themed shows "Robert E. Lee -- Shades of Gray" and "Frederick Douglass -- In the Shadow of Slavery." A forthcoming will be based on the life of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; just don't expect Dugan to don one of Jackie's iconic pillbox hats, as he's searching for an actress to play the role.

Still, you can't fault him for not being committed to his craft, as he's clipped his hair short and mastered an Austro-Hungarian accent to play Wiesenthal, a character who is nearly 40 years his senior during the time in which the show is set.

Although "Wiesenthal" is described in press materials as "part memoir and part spy thriller," Dugan says his play, which has played California and Nevada and has also seen previously in a preview production at 92 Street Y in New York, also emphasizes the surprisingly comedic side of its subject -- a characteristic that's usually overlooked in history books.

"Almost everyone I met who knew Wiesenthal during his lifetime marveled at his wicked sense of humor," Dugan, 53, noted in an interview with The Huffington Post. Capturing that playful nature, Dugan added, was critical to what he also describes as the show's biggest challenge: finding a way to humanize the titular character, who is often referred to as the "Jewish James Bond," as well as the Nazi war criminals who are referenced throughout. Many stage and screen portrayals of war criminals, Dugan said, are fashioned in a way that ultimately "distances you from them," which is something he sought to avoid in his show.

"Wiesenthal understood that each of us has the capacity and potential for evil in us," he said. Although he was baptized Catholic, Dugan says he was inspired to write "Wiesenthal" by his father, Frank Dugan, who was a World War II veteran. His wife, Amy, is Jewish, and his sons Eli and Miles are also being raised in the Jewish faith.

Still, the resonance of the show should go beyond those who identify as Jewish, as Wiesenthal also fought for the rights of Soviet, Polish, Gypsy, Jehovah's Witness and gay Holocaust victims, too.

"Wiesenthal" opens Nov. 5 at New York's Acorn Theatre on Theatre Row. For more information, head here.
↧

'Peter Pan Live!' Promo Shows The Making Of A Musical

October 30, 2014, 8:07 am
↧
Search

The Book We're Talking About: 'Dear Thief' By Samantha Harvey

October 30, 2014, 9:13 am
$
0
0
Dear Thief
by Samantha Harvey
Atavist Books, $20.00
Published October 28, 2014

The Book We're Talking About is a weekly review combining plot description and analysis with fun tidbits about the book.

What we think:

Dear Thief burrows deep into the mind of its tormented narrator, excavating the complex ways in which trauma can be manifested and healing can be sought.

The title of Samantha Harvey’s new novel, Dear Thief, can also be read as the first line of the book. Dear Thief is a letter, and the title its salutation. The unnamed narrator addresses herself throughout to some enigmatic, distant other; a thief who is also, somehow, dear to the aggrieved speaker; a thief who was once a beloved friend.

The letter, which veers from guilt-ridden to accusatory, chatty to anguished, maps the tortured psychology of a close friendship marred by betrayal. The narrator opens largely with reminiscences, picking up the threads of long-ago conversations and dwelling tenderly on the teenage exploits she shared with her friend, whom she calls Butterfly. She reveals snapshots of her current life, years removed from the events she’s remembering, though it’s unclear at first what’s passed in between. She reveals that she no longer knows how to reach her friend, though she writes anyway, and she poignantly recalls a romance that led to a marriage that led to her only son. Through it all, Butterfly drifts in and out, an ambivalent presence both welcome and threatening in the narrator’s life, in the way only a truly intimate friend can be. Slowly, as the letter winds on, the narrator reluctantly allows us to glimpse the roots of her anger and suffering, and of the rift that has separated her from Butterfly.

An entire novel in one letter could grow claustrophobic, but Harvey widens the universe of the book with her deft use of suspense, the psychological complexity of her narrator, and the wide-ranging scope, which ecompasses flashbacks from years before, imagined present existences, and anecdotes from her current day-to-day, all interwoven with recurring allusions to the Upanishads. The narrator is open about her own unreliability, frequently admitting she’s glossed over or avoided subjects too close to the painful heart of their rift, or that she’s projected too freely what her lost friend’s life might now look like. The letter is perpetually under revision, circling back on its own errors to rewrite a more true version of history.

Harvey’s playfulness with language and meaning, as evidenced by the very title, infuses the book with vitality, charging every scene with hidden significance. From the eerie opening scene, in which the narrator remembers gathering animal bones along the Thames the night her grandmother died, the book hovers somewhere between realism and allegory, with each event and object (pearls, playing cards, a shawl) so freighted with layers of meaning that they seem more device than reality at times. At its best, her prose achieves this with graceful bluntness, though it sometimes veers into frenzied poeticism; occasionally the overwrought posturing of the letter grates, as when Harvey relies on melodramatic outbursts for reaction: “Oh, to have murdered you, Butterfly, with my heart on fire.”

These missteps, however, don’t dilute the visceral, haunting thrill of Harvey’s novel, which explores the psychological trauma of an intimate betrayal with such empathy that readers will feel drawn into the narrator’s own confused sense of self, fear of closeness, and longing for exactly what has hurt her.

What other reviewers think:
The Guardian: "The novel is presented as a long letter, a literary device that is difficult to pull off, but Harvey's innovations electrify every word."

Publishers Weekly: "With her eerie and arresting latest, Harvey (The Wilderness) gives the neologism “frenemy” a full-book treatment."

Who wrote it?
Samantha Harvey is the author of three novels, including The Wilderness, which was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Orange Prize. She lives in England.

Who will read it?
Fans of dark, psychologically complex literary fiction.

Opening lines:
“In answer to a question you asked a long time ago, I have, yes, seen through what you called the gauze of this life. But to tell you about it I will have to share with you a brief story.”

Notable passage:
“Life is short. Life shoots you a lethal dose of time. Time is a drug that wears off. You seem to stare at me from under that crooked fringe as if to say, You brought this up. Or worse, as if to say: Put your pen down, my friend, forget it; I will never be sorry. I was trying to save myself; I failed, but at least I had the dignity to want to be saved. More fool you, if you don’t want to save yourself too.”
↧
↧

What's Expiring On Netflix In November 2014?

October 30, 2014, 9:45 am
$
0
0
November is bringing some great new titles to Netflix. But unfortunately, that means we also have to say goodbye to some of our favorite movies and TV shows currently on the site. With only a couple days left before the end of the month, start planning your marathon of all the disappearing films you haven't had a chance to watch with this list of titles leaving Netflix come November.

This list is tentative and subject to change. HuffPost Entertainment contacted a representative for Netflix to confirm that these films will disappear from the service on Nov. 1 and beyond.

Movies

"101 Dalmatians", 1996
"American Psycho," 2000
"Apocalypse Now," 1979
"Apocalypse Now Redux," 2001
"Balibo," 2009
"The Big Chill," 1983
"Blown Away," 1992
"Breezy," 1973
"Brighton Beach Memoirs,"1986
"Broadcast News," 1987
"The Buddy Holly Story," 1978
"Bullet Proof Monk," 2003
"Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,"1969
"Candyman," 1992
"Caveman," 1981
"Cheech & Chong’s Next Movie," 1980
"Cloak & Dagger," 1984
"The Conqueror Worm," 1968
"The Dogs of War," 1980
"Elvis ’56," 1987
"The Escape Artist", 1982
"Footloose," 1984
"For a Few Dollars More," 1965
"Fire in Babylon," 2010
"The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," 1966
"The Great Outdoors," 1988
"Hammett," 1982
"Hannibal," 2001
"He Said, She Said," 1991
"Heat Wave," 2011
"Iceman," 1984
"King Solomon’s Mines," 1985/"Allan Quartermain and the Lost City of Gold," 1987
"La Bamba," 1987
"Les Miserables," 1998
"The Ninth Gate," 1999
"The Odessa File," 1974
"One from the Heart," 1982
"Orca: The Killer Whale," 1977
"The Prince of Tides," 1991
"A Raisin in the Sun," 2008
"Red State," 2011
"Say Anything," 1989
"Serenity," 2005
"Silent Running," 1971
"Single White Female,"1992
"Small, Beautifully Moving Parts," 2011
"St. Elmo’s Fire," 1985
"Starman," 1984
"Steel Magnolias," 1989
"Stephen Fry in America," 2008 (Nov. 8)
"Tetro," 2009
"Thelma & Louise," 1991
"Tortilla Soup," 2001
"Trees Lounge," 1996
"Under the Tuscan Sun," 2003
"Up at the Villa," 2000
"Vigilante Force," 1976

TV Shows
"Bob the Builder," 1999-2012
"Land Girls," 2009-2011 (Nov.8)
"The Magic School Bus," 1994-1997 (Nov. 5)
"Thomas & Friends," 2005-2012
↧

Let These Colorful Looped Illustrations Wash Over You, Control Your Mind

October 30, 2014, 10:14 am
$
0
0
Somewhere between the textured artistry of a painting and the hypnotic powers of an animated GIF comes this series of looping illustrations by Nashville-based artist Drew Tyndell. Each block of color and movement feels like an abstract artwork has sprung into being, with each glorious squiggle, spot and line taking on a life of its own.

2014-10-24-Loop4_900px.gif

"The first one I did (The spinning cube) was inspired by a Stan Brakhage piece that I saw at an animation exhibition at the Frist Museum in Nashville," Tyndell explained to The Huffington Post. "I went home and hand-painted 65 or so frames in my basement the next day [picture below]. It was so time-consuming that I decided to make a shorter animation, but just make it loop."

painting

"I had so much fun making it that it sent me on a binge of loop-making. The rest were probably inspired more by Walter Ruttmann's and Oskar Fischinger’s early animations from the '20s. I’ve been trying to use the compositions and shapes that I use on my wood paintings and combine them with animation."

2014-10-24-Loop3_900px.gif

The resulting visions give us a taste of what life would be like if Wassily Kandinsky's oeuvre went all "Toy Story" on us. In the words of Tyndell: "With these animations I really just wanted to make something that was fun to look at, and not at all too serious." Let the colorful visions cure all that ails you in the hallucinatory moving images below. Head to Tyndell's Instagram for more.

2014-10-24-Loop2_900px.gif

2014-10-24-Loop1_900px.gif

2014-10-24-Loop6_900px.gif

2014-10-24-Loop5_900px.gif

↧

Françoise Gilot Reminisces About Henri Matisse

October 30, 2014, 10:19 am
$
0
0
MATISSE WAS THE KING of color. I first met him in February 1946 with Picasso, when he was living at his house, Villa le Rêve, in Vence [France]. I expected his house to be bright, but the shutters were pulled shut so as to let in just the smallest amount of light. It was a complete surprise, this darkness. In the first room, when we entered, there was a big cage of birds. I thought, “Poor little birds that are not allowed to see the sun.”

The opposite of what you expect is always interesting.
↧

'Game Of Thrones' News Reveals Potential Spoiler Book Readers Don't Even Know

October 30, 2014, 10:44 am
$
0
0
"Game of Thrones" Season 5 isn't even complete yet, but news of Season 7 is already causing spoilery speculation.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a handful of lead "GoT" actors have now signed on for a "potential" seventh season of the HBO series. The network previously renewed the George R.R. Martin-inspired fantasy series for fifth and sixth seasons back in April, but did not finalize plans for a seventh chapter in the popular series. The actors included in the news, however, reveal a possible major spoiler that even book readers don't know.

Spoiler alert for fans of the show and book. Stop reading if you don't want to know who's "potentially" returning for Season 7.



According to THR, HBO uses a tiered system to pay their actors, and the top tier includes Kit Harington, Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. These cast members, who apparently renegotiated their contracts in tandem, are among the "highest paid" actors on cable television. But what's important for us is what the names listed there potentially reveal. While it's still unknown just how many seasons of "GoT" HBO will make -- something that's an ongoing topic among fans -- it is likely that the series will run for seven seasons. (Back in June, showrunners Dan Weiss and David Benioff told Entertainment Weekly that their "unstated goal" of seven seasons was still part of their plan.) If that's the case, that means Harrington's appearance in the final season signals some major spoilers for Jon Snow.

At the end of Martin's last-published book in the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series, "A Dance With Dragons," Jon Snow gets stabbed multiple times, leaving readers with a cliffhanger about whether he will live or die in the next books (or become resurrected). If Season 7 is the final season of the series, it would cover material from forthcoming books, "The Winds of Winter" and "A Dream of Spring." Therefore, Harrington signing on for a potential appearance in Season 7 alludes to the character's fate that not even book readers know. To no surprise, it has already caught some Reddit users' attention.

But nothing is certain here. As THR notes, the actors' renegotiated contracts include "an option for season 7," meaning that they may not even show up in the season. HBO also declined to comment to HuffPost Entertainment regarding the news. Till then, we know just as much as Jon Snow -- nothing!

For more, head to THR.
↧
↧

Middle East Relationships, Explained Through An Interactive Map

October 30, 2014, 11:59 am
$
0
0
Trying to understand the complexities of Middle East politics can seem like an impenetrable task and the tangled and changing relations between governments and groups in the region are a common subject of discussion. What's more, instead of clarifying the chaos, maps or charts that break down the various conflicts and alliances often merely prove how absurdly complex the situation really is.

However, one attempt at capturing how the region's many different actors relate to each other has found an impressive way of merging simplification and accuracy.

Using a variety of data sources, David McCandless of the design site Information Is Beautiful (and author of Knowledge is Beautiful) created a chart that gives the appropriate impression of jumbled alliances, but is also interactive and explains specific connections. Made possible with the help of coders at Univers Labs, the interactive design clarifies which countries and groups are allied and who are sworn enemies.



By highlighting or clicking on any of the actors in the region, the reader can explore the actor's relevant connections. Clicking on Islamic State, for example, shows that the extremist group has a mutual hatred with just about everyone else, with the exception of Qatar. Despite having participated in international airstrikes against IS, the Gulf State has been accused of being a hotspot for terror funding.

While some of the connections may be up for debate, the chart is a great supplementary guide for an often incomprehensible topic. As with anything in the region, though, it will likely be subject to change as political bonds break and forge.
↧

Disney Princesses With Realistic Waistlines Look Utterly Fabulous

October 30, 2014, 12:22 pm
$
0
0
What if Disney princesses had realistic waistlines? Well, they would look pretty fab. No doubt about it.

Buzzfeed's Loryn Brantz decided to digitally edit six famous Disney ladies -- Ariel ("The Little Mermaid"), Pocahontas ("Pocahontas"), Jasmine ("Aladdin"), Belle ("Beauty and the Beast"), Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty") and Elsa ("Frozen") -- to show what the cartoon heroines would look like if they had more realistic physical proportions. After all, since these characters are supposed to represent people in films made for children, they should probably look more like real people, right?

"As a woman who loves Disney and has dealt with body image issues, it has been something I've always wanted to comment on, particularly after seeing 'Frozen,'" Brantz told The Huffington Post in an email Thursday. "While I loved the film, I was horrified that the main female character designs haven't changed since the '60s. The animation industry is historically male dominated, and I think that contributes to how these designs became so extreme in their proportions — their necks are almost always bigger than their waists!"

Calling to mind the argument for a more anatomically correct Barbie doll, others have also highlighted the impractical proportions of Disney's princesses by comparing them to real-world bodies.

Last year, artist Meridith Viguet got some press for a tutorial she created on how to draw a Disney-friendly version of a princess. Disney's animated female figures, she noted, typically have long, slender necks; "demure" shoulders; B- or C-cup breasts and "soft but very defined" waists. But don't look for hips, because Disney princesses tend not to have them, Viguet pointed out in her tutorial, using Meg from "Hercules" as an example. "[H]er curves DON'T come from having really round hips, but from connecting the top of her legs (which are at their widest) to a slim waist," Viguet writes of Meg.

A real woman, however, has a thicker neck, wider shoulders and a less defined waist with actual hips.

"As children we may not realize these images in the media affect us, but they definitely do," Brantz told HuffPost. "Media outlets with the opportunity to change the way women are viewed and view themselves should start taking responsibility. It only took a couple nudges of a line to make those princesses' waists less extreme, and they still looked beautiful and magical."

Check out Brantz's original piece on Buzzfeed.

↧
Search

Your Favorite Characters Frozen In (Chocolate) Carbonite (PHOTOS)

October 30, 2014, 1:06 pm
$
0
0
Mmmmm horrific cruelty!

Photographer Henry Hargreaves froze some of his childhood idols in edible carbonite.

"In my nostalgic fantasy... the ruthless gangster, Jabba the Hut, put out a bounty on my favorite childhood characters," Hargreaves wrote in an email to The Huffington Post. "They suffer the same fate as Han Solo did in Return of the Jedi and are hung as trophies on his wall, all frozen in carbonite. But in my grown up world food has replaced fantasy as my obsession so here they are all made from chocolate."

Take a look at the photographer's creations below and watch his video above.






Like Us On Facebook |
Follow Us On Twitter |
Contact The Author
↧

SonReal And What It's Like Being A White Rapper In A Post-Macklemore Hip-Hop Scene

October 30, 2014, 1:28 pm
$
0
0
It isn’t very often that weird humor and hip-hop mix. The Beasties Boys and The Fat Boys were two of the first to embrace comedy hip-hop in the 1980s, a conceit that was picked up by Eminem in the '90s, and current acts like Childish Gambino, Macklemore, Odd Future and Lil Dicky within the last decade.

But one of the most recent artists to throw his silly hat into the ring is Canada’s SonReal. Releasing his “Everywhere We Go” music video just over a year ago, the Juno-nominated rapper seems to pay homage to the uncomfortable awkwardness and absurd nerdy stylings of “Napoleon Dynamite.” Accumulating nearly 1.5 million views on YouTube -- “One million views in Canada is more like 100 million in the States” -- comedy feels like a natural fit for SonReal. But with mixtapes hailing back to 2006, this goofy tone is actually a first.



"I think we created a whole new side to my personality with that video,” SonReal told The Huffington Post. "A lot of people didn’t even really think I was funny before that. A lot of my stuff was a little more serious, maybe some people would categorize it as emo.”

The video for “Believe,” off his most recent free album, “One Long Day,” was purposefully released after “Everywhere We Go” to remind both new and old fans of his more serious side. (SonReal was aware that an art piece wouldn’t go viral.) While the majority of the album floats in this space of self-examination and outreach, SonReal’s latest video for his new track, “Preach,” brings on another wacky, stoic production, shot in 57 different locations throughout the United States.



Born as Aaron Hoffman and raised in Vernon, British Columbia, a small town with a population of 60,000, SonReal grew up expecting to follow in the footsteps of the town's working populace.

"A lot of the people where I’m from go up north and work on rigs," he said. "It’s these small town dreams, which is to have a family and try to be rich. That’s what successful is there. There are no rappers around my way, so I really had to break the mold. When I first started, people around me didn’t take me seriously -- and so they shouldn’t have, I was horrible at it. But it was definitely harder for me, I think, than somebody growing up in a big city because there was no one within 500 miles of me that had done what I was trying to do.”

Introduced to hip-hop through skateboarding, he fell in love with albums like Nas' “Illmatic,” Method Man's “Judgement Day” and Mobb Deep's “The Infamous.” On his first mixtape, “Trapped In The Streets,” SonReal emulated these artists, rapping about selling drugs and killing people. While he understands he was just trying to find his place in hip-hop, SonReal is thankful that little beyond the music was documented. “I’m so happy I didn’t have a YouTube account at the time because I would have so many videos that are so bad,” he said.

“It takes time to find out what you want to say and who you want to be,” SonReal continued. "At the end of the day is just comes back to ‘do you.’ I have always said I want to be around for a long time, so we’ve taken our time with things and made sure they’re perfect. One thing about me is that I’ve never been really amazing right off the jump. I’m not someone who just comes out with a smash album right at the start. I’m consistently working to get better at my music. ‘One Long Day’ is my best work today, but my new stuff is already turning out to be way more energetic. I’m excited about it.”

As SonReal continues to rise -- and headlines his first tours throughout the United States -- the comparisons to Macklemore feel unfortunately inevitable. In addition to both men being white rappers, they share a goofy-sincere sensibility. But for those willing to really listen, SonReal's work exudes its own unique talent. In fact, it's what many of his fans know already: SonReal has his own flow, his own style, his own message. And he's pretty damn good at it.

before the beat drops

Before The Beat Drops is an artist introduction series dedicated to bringing you the rising acts before they make their break. Our unlimited access to music of all kinds is both amazing and overwhelming. Keeping your playlists fresh, we'll be doing the leg work to help you discover your next favorite artist.
↧
↧

23 Things Any 'Scandal' Fan Knows To Be True

October 30, 2014, 2:28 pm
$
0
0
1. A glance between Olivia and Fitz is equal to another couple's 1000 kisses

oliviafitzgif2
GIF: scandalmoments.tumblr.com

Ross and Rachel who?

2. And you know their relationship is toxic

iamnotatoy
GIF: BuzzFeed

Ugh, Fitz.

3. But you want them to be together in spite of yourself

oliviafitzphone
GIF: awesomelyluvvie.com

LOVE.

4. No matter your intentions otherwise, you crack open a bottle of red wine mid-episode

oliviawingegif
GIF: BuzzFeed

The power of suggestion is real. (Though yours is probably $14.)

5. Your heart starts to race in fear every time Cyrus opens his eyes wide

cyrusangry
GIF: Buzzfeed Community

It's about to go down.

6. But when he speaks very quietly, you know you're in for even more trouble

cyrusterrifying
GIF: awesomelyluvvie.com

CRYING.

7. Even though it was forever ago, you miss when Desmond from "Lost" was on the show

desmond
GIF: scandalmoments.tumblr.com

RIP Abby and Stephen.

8. You have to go to Wikipedia to find out why Fitz and Olivia most recently broke up

stolenmoments
GIF: mayanrocks.com

And while you're on there: Why did Jake give David the files? What does Mellie know about Jerry? Who killed who in Season 2?

9. But you don't need any help remembering ROWAN IS EVIL

rowanevil
GIF: awesomelyluvvie.com

Even though the president apparently does?

10. Your friend's "Do you want to hang out Thursday night?" text has only possible response

scandalhahahgif
GIF: katrinapavela.tumblr.com

LOL NOPE.

11.You know David Rosen is kind of useless, but really don't want to see him go

davidrosengif
GIF: pop-break.com

What a goofball.

12. JAKE IS SO ANNOYING

jakegif
GIF: Buzzfeed Community

SHHHHHHHHHHH.

13. A father-daughter dinner can be the most disturbing thing on TV all week

rowanoliviadinner
GIF: awesomelyluvvie.com

... not hungry.

14. When Abby got a curly hair makeover, you were like WHOA

abbymakeover
GIF: scandalmoments.tumblr.com

Ready for my close up.

15. Sad Huck looks like a golden retriever

huckcry
GIF: awesomeluvvie.com

Sorry, you can't unsee it.

16. Charlie and Quinn are just ... NO


GIF: drfitzgeraldgrant.tumblr.com

EW. STOP.

17. And Quinn and Huck are just EVEN MORE NO

huckquinn
GIF: alliefasanella.com

EW. STOP.

18. You were pretty skeptical when Quinn pulled a key out of an intestine

quinnhey
GIF: scandalmoments.tumblr.com

When did she learn every single skill?

19. You've wondered if there's a real life B613

tomscandal
GIF: kronosinasuit.tumblr.com

... And at times been pretty convinced.

20. At this point, when someone says "white hat," you basically want to barf

whitehatgif
GIF: awesomelyluvvie.com

WE GET IT.

21. Even when she's going through a hard time, Mellie is an amazing mom

melliekarengif
GIF: YouTube

<3

22. And she's obviously the one who should be president

callmybluff
GIF: yahooentertainment.tumblr.com

Bye, bye, Fitz.

23. Because even Smelly Mellie can throw serious zings

smellymellie
GIF: tvguide.com

FRY.


HAPPY SHONDA DAY!

oliviafitzcute
GIF: scandalmoments.tumblr
↧

Frances McDormand Proves Once Again That She's Amazing In 'Olive Kitteridge'

October 30, 2014, 2:41 pm
$
0
0
If you're not willing to settle for a likable lead character, you may well be satisfied with a lovable Frances McDormand in "Olive Kitteridge," an HBO miniseries that is every bit as astringent and intelligent as its title character.

You can guess what Olive herself would think of "likability": She'd probably call it a mushy concept fit only for children and imbeciles. She'd dismiss it with a barely audible sigh.

This flinty Maine schoolteacher, played with precise determination by McDormand, has no time for saps and sentimental types. And yet, as played by McDormand and as luminously excavated in the Elizabeth Strout novel this fine miniseries is based on, we come to know that Olive feels things deeply. She cares -- about people, about animals, about nature, about art -- but she is held back by her inability to convey her thoughts and feelings to other people in ways they can accept and understand.

People frequently flinch and shrink back from her crisp judgments, but she doesn't mind: She'd rather not waste her time with frivolity and attempts to be accepted. Much of the time, you can't blame her for making withering pronouncements, even as you wince a bit at her bluntness. But Olive's assessments aren't often wrong and she's only noting things that others don't have the courage to say.

With grit and pursed-lips intensity, Olive cooks, gardens and teaches the local kids in her small Maine town. Part of the reason she's considered odd is because she is, frankly, very smart, but she also can be self-pitying and cruel. Neighbors around town who want to chat or to offer a kind word are often met with an acerbic comment about their children's intelligence (or lack thereof).

Olive has no time for small talk, but she has a big heart; she feels no need to censor herself, and yet she is keenly aware of what others think of her. Moving with jerky, energetic movements around their small, tidy house or attacking their waterfront garden with verve, Olive takes care of her dwellings and her husband and son in her ways, but her family knows better than anyone else that she can be a lot to take.

In short, Olive is a fantastically complex character, and McDormand asks for no sympathy in her portrayal of the woman, and yet a lump rose in my throat more than once in the final hour of this four-hour miniseries. Olive never tries to solicit anyone's pity, but McDormand, writer Jane Anderson and director Lisa Cholodenko bring Olive's lonely quest for connection to such vivid life that it's impossible not to ache for her before the miniseries is over.

"Olive Kitteridge" needs a little time to draw the viewer in to Olive's world: All of it is worth watching, but I found myself more engaged by the third and fourth hour than the first and second. In those early installments, the cramped confines of Olive's tiny kitchen could feel a little claustrophobic (and that is likely intentional). There are a couple of side stories that don't quite land, most notably one about the son of a troubled woman played with heartbreaking subtleness by Rosemarie DeWitt. We just don't get to know those characters well enough for their fates to have a deep impact, but when the miniseries is focused on Olive and the men in her life, it is often quite absorbing.

McDormand, who is superb in the lead role, is reason enough to watch "Olive Kitteridge." With quiet diligence, McDormand creates a compassionate portrait of a woman who helps her family and neighbors in ways they don't readily appreciate or even notice and asks for nothing in return. She does not expect and would not care much for their understanding. And yet Olive can be gentle and grateful, even vulnerable at times. McDormand's great accomplishment is showing that there is no contradiction in a character who is kind one minute and capable of wounding the next; we all contain such contradictions.

The supporting cast is a who's who of great character actors. Peter Mullan, playing a very different character than he did in "Top of the Lake," makes a lasting impression as a fellow teacher, and Zoe Kazan, Jesse Plemons and John Gallagher Jr. make the most of their screen time.

McDormand is clearly and rightfully the star of the show, but Bill Murray and Richard Jenkins provide additional reasons to tune in; both bring a warmth and dry wit to a drama whose domestic scenes occasionally veer from awkward to (intentionally) taxing. Olive's prickliness and her husband Henry's passivity make for a difficult relationship, and you wonder more than once how he can stay married to her. But there can be so much meaning in one of Henry's looks; he's astounded by his wife and by his unending love for her. Later in the miniseries, McDormand's scenes with Murray brim with lively camaraderie and combative good humor; those two are simply a treat to watch together.

"Olive Kitteridge" was a passion project for McDormand, who is one of the miniseries' producers, and she and Cholodenko are to be lauded for taking on a whole raft of topics television doesn't take seriously often enough -- among them depression, mental illness, suicide and aging. But don't assume from that list that this is a dark tale, or even a sad one.

"Don't be scared of your hunger," Olive once tells someone, and Olive's hungers are many. Cholodenko shows Olive frequently taking great pleasure from food, and her hands are often full of dishes she's prepared for others. She's not ashamed of her physical hungers, but her emotional ones frighten her. And yet she keeps going, honest and contrarian, caring and selfish, and it's impossible to look away.

"Olive Kitteridge" airs Sunday and Monday at 9:00 p.m. ET on HBO.
↧

Artist Stretches And Smooshes Her Face Like It's Play Dough In Creepy GIF Series

October 31, 2014, 6:05 am
$
0
0
Here's an image that will stick with you for a while.

2014-10-29-slide_377626_4445908_free.gif


Artist and animator Kara Zona transforms her skin into a medium in her creepy (and totally addicting) GIF scan series. Titled "Face Stretch," the works are exactly what they sound like: moving images that show just how pliable human flesh truly is. In some GIFs, Zona appears like she's underwater, with shimmering reflections of light bouncing off the skin. In others, she seems like a human-shaped rubber band, or as The Creator's Project aptly put it, "like a warped, fleshy slinky."

2014-10-29-slide_377626_4445906_free.gif


On her website, Zona explains her artistic goal "to make the unreal real and the real unreal." She explores this issue, and the questions that subsequently arise, with the help of a scanner.

"A scanners innate use is to copy and digitize a real life object. Scanning physically takes these real life objects and makes them unreal by making a digital copy of the scanned object's existence. It locks its form in space-time forever as this digital prison. This frozen moment that each scan shows is proof of a conscious reality stored as an intangible form. Copies are not the real-original, therefore copies are unreal pseudo-originals. With that in mind there are key questions to start asking oneself about copies in general."

See Zona's trippy GIF scans below and let us know if your sense of reality is unhinged in the comments.

↧
Viewing all 18505 articles
Browse latest View live
Search
<script src="https://jsc.adskeeper.com/r/s/rssing.com.1596347.js" async> </script>