Music Video of the Day: Ariadna by Kedr Livanskiy (2017, dir by Masha Demianova)

Posted on June 8, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is National Best Friends Day so I knew I would absolutely have to share something from Kedr Livanskiy. My best friend Evelyn introduced me to Kedr Livanskiy’s music a few years ago and she quickly became a favorite of ours.

Evelyn and I absolutely love this wonderfully atmospheric song and video. As usual, one of us thinks that this song is about being young and free in Russia while the other thinks that it’s about young vampires who are learning how to deal with the ennui of being immortal. Try to guess who believes what! It’s fun!

Enjoy!

(And remember to hug your best friend today!)

Won’t You Take Me To “Poochytown” (Advance Review)

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Ryan C. (fourcolorapocalypse)

Ryan C.'s Four Color Apocalypse

Here’s the thing : Jim Woodring’s been at it so long, and done it so well, that it’s almost easy to — dare I say it — take him for granted.

There’s really no reason that you (or I, or we) should, though — after all, the guy is basically a cartooning national treasure. Dating back to the (very) late-1980s debut of his first series, Jim, and continuing through Tantalizing Stories, Jim Vol. 2, Frank, and a number of subsequent graphic novels and occasional short strips set in his (and I use this term with precision) visionary world known as The Unifactor, he’s been making comics like no one else has ever made — hell, like no one else has probably ever thought of — for going on three decades now, and here’s another thing : his stuff seemed about 100 years ahead of anything that…

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A Hidden ‘Poil’: THREE MEN ON A HORSE (Warner Brothers 1936)

Posted on June 7, 2018 by gary loggins

cracked rear viewer

Frank McHugh got a rare starring role in the comedy THREE MEN ON A HORSE, based on the hit Broadway play by George Abbott and John Cecil Holmes. McHugh was usually cast as the funny friend of fellow members of “Hollywood’s Irish Mafia “ James Cagney and Pat O’Brien, but here he takes center stage as a meek, hen-pecked type who has an uncanny knack for picking winning horses – as long as he doesn’t bet on them!

Greeting card writer Erwin Trowbridge is beset by a whiney wife, obnoxious brother-in-law, and bullying boss. After a row with wifey brought on by meddling bro-in-law, Erwin leaves his humble Ozone Park, Queens abode and decides to skip work and get sloshed. Stumbling into a seedy hotel bar frequented by Runyonesque gamblers, Erwin gives them a winning pony – then passes out. The three mugs, Patsy, Charlie, and Frankie, bring him up…

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Celebrate National Moonshine Day With The Covers of Speakeasy Stories

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Dazzling Erin

Today is National Moonshine Day, which is observed on the first Thursday of June. Even if you can’t get your hands on any Tennessee White Whiskey, you can still celebrate with the four covers of Speakeasy Stories.

One of the many pulp magazines published by Harold Hersey, Speakeasy Stories had a brief run in 1931. At the time, a speakeasy was a secret club where people could get a drink and violate prohibition. Speakeasies were associated with gangsters and good times and that’s what the covers of Speakeasy Stories promised their readers.

Here are the four covers of Speakeasy Stories:

Though there does appear to be a signature on the first cover of Speakeasy Stories, it’s not legible. It doesn’t look like the signature of Walter Baumhofer, who did the next two covers.

The W.B. by the gangster’s elbow indicated that this is the work of Walter Baumhofer.

Again, Walter Baumhofer’s signature is easy to spot on this cover.

I think this cover was also done by Walter Baumhofer but I’m not sure. His signature is not readily apparent but it does look like Baumhofer’s work.

Only four issues were published but they have subsequently become eagerly sought after by collectors.

Artwork of the Day: Detective World (Unknown Artist)

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Dazzling Erin

Unknown Artist

Music Video of the Day: Across the Universe, covered by Fiona Apple (1998, dir by Paul Thomas Anderson)

Posted on June 7, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

In this video, Fiona Apple serenely covers the Beatles’s Across the Universe while chaos reigns all around her.

Fiona recorded this cover for a 1998 film called Pleasantville and the video follows along with Pleasantville‘s plot of a black-and-white world descending into chaos as the result of a little color being added. That said, I would argue that this video is far superior to the film because Pleasantville was directed by the always heavy-handed Gary Ross while this video was directed by Fiona’s then-boyfriend, Paul Thomas Anderson. While staying true to the themes of Ross’s film, Anderson still brings his own signature wit to the video.

Enjoy!

Here’s The Teaser For The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part!

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Oh hell yeah! Everything is awesome because Emmett, Wyldstyle, and Princess Unikitty are back!

Of course, some people online are already complaining that this film is basically just a combination of Mad Max and Guardians of the Galaxy but who cares? It looks fun. It looks like it will make me laugh. It looks like it will help me get over the fact that there’s not a Pixar movie called Bumblebee that features Martin Freeman as a bee who is struggling to understand why the only ability God gave him — the ability to sting — is also the only thing that can kill him. That’s what is important here, people!

I’d follow Chris Pratt to the gates of Hell. In fact, I have. Anyone tried to sit through Passengers recently?

Anyway, the important thing is that this looks like a fun and cute movie, sure to be full of laughs for both the kids and the adults. This looks more like that Lego movie about Batman than the Lego movie about all the ninjas. I’m looking forward to it.

(Actually the LEGO movie with all the ninjas had a cute cat in it so it wasn’t all bad.)

Here’s The Trailer For Bumblebee!

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Yesterday, when I heard that there was a trailer for a film called Bumblebee, I was really excited because I assumed it would be a Pixar film about a bee who speaks with the voice of Martin Freeman and who wonders why he was given the ability to sting if he can only use it once before dying.

Then I watched the trailer and I discovered that it was just another Transformers movie.

Actually, to be specific, this is a Transformers spin-off. In fact, it’s a prequel! It’s set in the 80s, which means that there will be a lot of retro fun to be had! So, this might be better than the average Transformers film. Or it might really suck, again like an average Transformers film.

Regardless, I bet it will have a killer soundtrack.

(Also, there is a reason for cautious optimism. Michael Bay is not directing. Instead, the director is Travis Knight, who previously gave us the brilliant Kubo and The Two Strings.)

A Blast From The Past: Archival Newsreel Footage of D-Day!

Posted on June 6, 2018 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Today is the 74th anniversary of D-Day, a day in which thousands sacrificed themselves so that the world could live free of Hitler’s tyranny.

Now, back in 1944, they didn’t have the nightly news. They didn’t have CNN or MSNBC or Fox News. There was no 24-hour news channels. And certainly, there was no internet. No one live tweeted the invasion of Normandy. No one blogged about it. No one marked themselves safe on Facebook. Instead, for many of the citizens back home, their first knowledge of D-Day came from the newsreels that often ran before movies.

The newsreel below is from June 9th, 1944, three days after the invasion. Take a look: