Remember toy ovens when you were a kid? Well, this is the grown up version for tea. Estelle Sauvage made this beautiful piece for Ecole Nationale supérieure d’Art et de Design de Saint-Etienne graduate work. Using the heat of an incandescent light bulb, you can keep your tea warm as you stare at a pretty conversation piece.
via deezen.com via Gizmodo
First of all, this screening was at 5pm, which was a little early. From the trailer I could see it would be a “slice ‘n dice” movie but it had a pretty good cast, so I decided to go see it. Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal, Cheech, and Don Johnson, I could see why you were in this project – you needed the money, I get it – but the rest of you? DeNiro, Jessica Alba? You could have much better than joining this cast.
Machete (Danny Trejo, “Predators”) is hired by Booth (Jeff Fahey, TV’s “Lost”) to kill the infamous Senator McLaughlin (Robert DeNiro, “Everybody’s Fine”), who has taken a hard stance against illegal immigration in his bid for re-election. What Machete doesn’t know, however, is that Booth actually works for McLaughlin, and is trying to generate publicity for him. Meanwhile, Immigrations officer Sartana (Jessica Alba, “Valentine’s Day”) has been tracking the immigrants in the area for a while and notices Machete, since he is a new face in town. She soon realizes that he is a part of the shooting of McLaughlin (or so she thinks) and she goes to find him, not knowing that he has been played and was not actually the shooter.
This movie was super bloody (hello, the title is “Machete”) which I was prepared for, but I didn’t know the extent that the gruesomeness would go until I watched it – heads roll, people are eviscerated, and other body parts are chopped off. Parts of the movie were strangely funny, and I’m not sure if they were supposed to be or not – McLaughlin’s TV commercials for his campaign being one of them – and I think “Machete” was trying to go for humor in some scenes. Cheech Marin (“The Perfect Game”) definitely steals the show as a priest and also Machete’s brother, and although I enjoyed seeing him and Don Johnson (“When in Rome”) together in the same show/movie again, Don didn’t really contribute much in his role as one of McLaughlin’s cronies. Lindsay Lohan (“Labor Pains”) pops up as Booth’s daughter, which was a surprise to me because I didn’t know she was in this film, and her scenes are sporadic and don’t really add much to the movie either. Other supporting actors include Steven Seagal (“Born to Raise Hell”), who plays Torrez, an evil dictator, and Michelle Rodriguez (TV’s “Lost”) as a Mexican former revolutionary who helps others cross the border.
No, don’t see this movie. Even without taking the excessive bloodshed into account, the plot has tons of holes and is all over the place. There is rampant nudity and swearing (as to be expected from an R-rated movie), and the ending was kind of baffling to me. Interestingly, at the very end of the movie, words came up on the screen that said Machete will be back in “Machete Kills” and “Machete Kills Again,” which is unusual – they don’t usually tell you about sequels this far ahead of time. Maybe “Machete” was just not my cup of tea, but needless to say, I won’t be seeing the sequels, even if they are offered at a free screening.
“Machete” will be in theaters this Friday, September 3rd.
[via Yes/No Films]
Photographer Chris Maluszynski has a new exhibition, Las Vegas Carpets, showcasing that the carpeting at casino is not just in bad taste. Normally, you’d just brush off the interestingly vomit-inducing designs, but there just might be a little more to it. Read on.
I should tell you beforehand that I am biased when it comes to Drew Barrymore movies, as I am a huge fan of hers. I met her in person at the Birmingham, MI screening of “Whip It” last year, and she seemed as nice in real life as most of her characters are in her movies. Therefore, I was hoping that I would be able to give this movie a good review, and luckily it seems that I can.
Erin (Drew Barrymore, “Everybody’s Fine”) and Garrett (Justin Long, “After.Life”) meet in New York City while Erin is there for a summer internship. They instantly like each other but Erin cautions Garrett that their relationship can only last throughout the summer, as she is returning to San Francisco in August. After they part ways at the airport, however, they realize that they like each other too much for it to just be a “summer fling,” and they decide to try having a long distance relationship together. Airfare is expensive, however, and they soon find that when you are only seeing each other every three months or so, it’s tough to consider it a “relationship.”
Barrymore and Long have undeniable chemistry – I read a review with Barrymore in which she said that she has had the most chemistry with him than with any others she’s worked with – and it definitely makes the movie work. Long’s friends in the movie are funny as well – Charlie Day (TV’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”) plays Dan, Garrett’s roommate, and Jim Gaffigan (TV’s “My Boys”) plays another friend. Christina Applegate (TV’s “Samantha Who?”) plays Erin’s loving but a bit psycho sister, and Ron Livingston (“Dinner for Schmucks”) has a small role as Garrett’s boss at the record company where he works.
Yes, see this movie, but there are a few caveats. First off, the movie is rated “R” for a reason – this was probably the raunchiest comedy I have seen in a while. Unlike movies like “Hot Tub Time Machine,” however, the vulgarity helps make the movie funny, and it’s nothing too “over the top.” There’s also a lot of swearing which is to be expected from an R-rated movie, and we see some partial nudity as well. The audience (mostly the women) screamed with laughter when we see parts of Justin Long in a certain tanning scene … it was definitely unexpected but it’s done tastefully, in my opinion.
“Going the Distance” opens in theaters on September 3rd.
[via Yes/No Films]
