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The cast of Spring Breakers aka: the best film of 2013. Selena Gomez & Vanessa Hudgens together = Disney Jailbait Princess Overload.

More amazing/drool inducing photos from the shoot can be found HERE.

R.I.P. MCA (Beastie Boys)

1964-2012

I know I'm a little late with this one (afk all weekend) but I had to post something about this.

Last week, Adam Yauch aka MCA of the Bestie Boys passed away after a three year battle with cancer. He was 47 years old.

I was never a rabid Beastie Boys devotee, but they made such a HUGE musical impact over the course of their career, even a casual fan like myself can't help but stumble over the news of MCA's passing.

I've been listening to a lot of Beastie Boys online this weekend. Lots of memories/nostalgia washing over me. I'm sharing their video for "Intergalatic" today. Takes me back to 1998, sitting at the lunch tables in 8th grade with my friends looking through the CD booklet for Hello Nasty. Not only is this probably my favorite Beastie Boys song, but MCA directed the video himself.


 R.I.P. sir. You will be missed.

Female Obsession: Scarlett Johansson

I'm usually a fan of brunettes. In fact if you've kept track of all my past Female Obsession inductees, you might notice the lack of blondes (save for Kristen Bell, of course). Well, it's time to break the streak with the one and only, Miss Scarlett Johansson.

Nerd Swoon

Scarlett first came to my attention in 2003's Lost In Translation. She was so unconventionally gorgeous in that film. The movie opens with shot of Scarlett wearing pink sheer panties. That's one hell of an introduction if you ask me. A friend of mine let me borrow Ghost World shortly after, that's when I truly jumped on the Scarlett Jo bandwagon. She was only 16 when she made this movie, playing an awkward teen outcast to perfection, but this is the film that made me realize she was more than just a pretty face and was an actual, talented actress.

So Scarlett's career exploded in the 2000's. She became a big huge movie star, working with A-list directors like Woody Allen (Match Point, Vicky Christina Barcelona), Christopher Nolan (The Prestige) Cameron Crowe (We Bought a Zoo) and Michael Bay (The Island....well, you can't win them all!). Aside from her main acting gig, she also SINGS, and does some modeling on the side. Small endorsements for little mom and pop brands like Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Dior, Louis Vuitton. Nothing major.

Scarlett was married to Ryan Reynolds, star of the "hit" TV show Two Guys a Girl and a Pizza Place and blockbuster film, Green Lantern, from 2008 to 2010. They officially divorced in 2011, the same year nude photos of Scarlett were hacked/stolen from her email account. Sucks Miss Jo had to go through such a messy ordeal, but deep down all her pervy fans across the globe rejoiced.

Russian Spy FTW

I'd say Scarlett has bounced back pretty well though. Just yesterday she received her very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and now, stars as Black Widow in Marvel's newest film The Avengers (aka THE MOVIE I'VE WAITED FOR MY ENTIRE LIFE!) which is sure to be one of the biggest films of the year.

Here are some photos of Scarlett looking amazing:

I'll leave you with this video of Scarlett being adorable.


*BONUS SCARLETT JO OVERDOSE CLIP*
The single greatest achievement in the history of mankind:

Movie Review: American Reunion

I had to see this movie. I absolutely had to. The nostalgia factor was too strong. I simply could not resist...

So the last thing the world needed was another American Pie movie. I was really surprised they even bothered. I guess they figured old suckers like me would come out in droves to satisfy their morbid curiosity and seek closure in their lives, after spending the past decade wondering what happened to Mena Suvari's character (hell I don't even remember her name).

So it's the American Pie groups thirteen year high school reunion. Why they celebrate this milestone I don't know. Either way, the dudes are all grown up now and thoroughly hating adult life. Career's, relationships, family life...it isn't what they had thought it would be. This reunion gives the guys a chance to relive the past, make some new fun/wacky memories and hopefully create a spark in their otherwise suck ass lives. Of course the cruel wall of reality intervenes. The guys are in their 30's now and can't really get away with such stupid shenanigans anymore. That's about it. This movie is like a midlife crisis for millennials. 30 is the new 50 I guess.

Luckily, even though most of the main characters are pretty much boring shills who suck the life out of every shot they're in, there are FOUR saviors of this film who always bring the lulz or a major smile to your face.

#1: STIFLER

Steve Stifler has emerged as the heart and soul of the American Pie series. He pretty much carries the entire film. He says "fuck" a lot, is still girl crazy and although he's a mentally stunted man-child, he's totally fucking awesome.

#2: JIM'S DAD

He may have been the lame adult for most of the series but now that the rest of the gang are lame adults themselves, Jim's dad reigns supreme in the comic relief department. Seriously, he steals every scene he's in.

#3 ALI COBRIN

I don't remember her character's name but she plays Jim's neighbor. He used to babysit her when she was a child, now she's hot, grown up and wants to get busy. She gets naked, has an AMAZING body, and gets naked. Did I mention she gets naked???

#4: MILF GUY #2

Just look at him! The moment Harold appeared on screen with that rockin' mustache everyone in the audience (all ten of us) gasped with excitement. He might have been a uber obscure character in the first film but MILF Guy #2 is back and brings the lolz!

That's it. Those are the four reasons I enjoyed this film. Without them this film is nothing....but thanks to them I laughed pretty hard.

Refused @ The Warfield, San Francisco. 4/18/12.

Refused are fucking ALIVE!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd be writing a review of a Refused concert. The band had been broken up for years before I ever discovered them during the early millennium. They were my posthumous punk rock heroes. A band of ghosts, who's final album, The Shape of Punk to Come, I gladly let haunt me for the next 11 years. I always hoped Metallica would stop sucking one day, or that Rage Against The Machine would reform, but I never had such thoughts about Refused. After the band self destructed in the fall of 1998 during a torturous tour of the Eastern United States, their official press release claimed the band would never reunite and urged newspapers to burn all of their photographs. The title of this release, also a song from their last album, "Refused Are Fucking Dead."

Flash forward to January 2012. Refused announce their triumphant return. Music geeks around the globe rejoice. I wasn't down to bust the bank seeing them at this years Coachella but WAS ready, willing and able to make the road trip up to San Francisco for their special show at The Warfield. I was lucky and snagged balcony seats within seconds tickets went on sale. The Warfield has a capacity of like 2,200+  and the show sold out in literally one minute. So I was lucky enough to snag two tickets for the show. Icing on the cake for the whole event, the Hives were playing in support of Refused as well. Two of my favorite Swedish rock bands playing together. Mind = Blown.

So my girlfriend and I, after surviving a wonderfully sweaty concert with The Hives the night before, woke up early the next day and drove six hours up North to San Francisco. We had awesome little vacation but the main purpose of the trip never left my mind: REFUSED.

The night of the show we arrived on time for once. That never happens in LA. Always stuck in traffic or having to hassle parking. Anyways, we got there on time, found our seats and I finally got to see the opening band, The Bronx. It's funny I had to go to SF to see an LA band. Again, they were always on opening slots of tours and I'd always arrive late! Oh wells, they were awesome. The Hives were next and were uber entertaining. It was fun watching them perform to a less enthusiastic crowd than their mob of loyal fans who danced all night at The Glass House. Tonight the band was in attack mode, still full of fun loving energy but determined to make the Hardcore/Metal head die-hards standing with their arms crossed acknowledge that The Hives existed.

So The Bronx and The Hives both rocked. In fact I'd say just seeing the two of them together would have made for an awesome show by itself. But of course everyone inside the theater started getting ancy as soon as The Hives wrapped up. The time was approaching. REFUSED was next!

Finally, after a dozen year wait, Refused took the stage and everyone in the venue went nuts. They opened with "Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull," the first track off Shape of Punk to Come, and I was suddenly transformed into an alternate Back To The Future style alternate reality/timeline. This could not be happening. I thought I was dreaming...but I wasn't! Refused was NOT fucking dead. They were alive, kicking, and rocking the fuck out.

They played pretty much every song off The Shape of Punk to Come (except "Protest Song 68'" which was ok with me), "Rather Be Dead" "Coup d'etat" "Hook, Line and Sinker" and "The Slayer" from Songs to Fan The Flames of Discontent and a super old track, "Everlasting."

Dennis gave a cool little speech before "Rather Be Dead" and it instantly reminded me of my post from early 2011 about the Arab Spring uprisings.
I dedicated this same song to all those suffering during the throes of the revolution. Sad but true how prophetic Refused's music has become over the past 14 years.

So the band sounded amazing. You'd never guess they'd be inactive for so long. Hell, they even looked pretty much the same! They're pushing 40 these days and you'd never know it. The crowd response was insane. The pit was bouncing and moving all night. Dudes climbed up and where stage diving into the crowd. Just about everyone was singing along the whole night as well. Everyone in the audience had about a decade of practice so, we sounded great also.

Highlight of the night, when the band came back for their encore and started playing "New Noise," the floor started shaking. Refused almost triggered a massive San Francisco Earthquake this I'm sure of. "New Noise" was my ringtone on my girlfriend's phone for oh, at least 5 years. Now we both stood together as Refused ripped through the song in person. Totally surreal, amazing experience.

highlight of 2012.