Apparently Dee Snider IS going to take it! (to Broadway). This is NOT photoshopped, I swear. 

The secret to eating delish on the cheap: A list of the Top Ten tastiest Ramen Noodles. 

Holy archive, Batman. An online archive with over 800 hours of field recordings (from 1946-1991), 5,000 photos, 16 hours of vintage radio transcriptions, and 90 hours of interviews, discussions, and lectures. 

Re-Animator for bunnies, squirrels, and birds? CONVENTO is coming soon! 

TRON dance party! (Hang in there, the real action starts around the 1-minute mark) 

"A" is for An American Werewolf in London..." Teach your kids the Horror Film Alphabet! See also: The Sci-Fi Film Alphabet, and The Bond Film Alphabet. 

{ The FP screens daily at 9pm 3/16-3/21 at the SIFF Cinema Film Center}

I was supposed to being using this slot to talk about 21 Jump Street, a surprisingly fun endeavor I recommend checking out. But I went to SXSW at the same time I'd intended to be doing that writing. And let's just say things got a little complicated. So instead we're going to talk about the other film you should see this weekend. One you likely have never heard of, but perhaps an ideal double feature to get your 80's flashback on with. But don't worry - the straight dope on 21 Jump Street isn't that far off.

The folks at SIFF Cinema have been doing a bang-up job filling their four screens with a rotation of really diverse stuff. The inclusion of the somewhat insane Drafthouse Films distributed The FP makes me proud of them, and proud to live in Seattle. I saw this film at SXSW last year in a screening memorable enough to briefly become an internet controversy. I liked it well enough then, but the film has been steadily growing on me since I saw it almost a year ago. So I'll be one of the folks hanging out in Seattle Center 9pm one day this week for another bite at the apple. You can watch the first ten minutes of the film below to whet the appetite. Just be aware it's not entirely safe for work.

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SIFF Cinema is aiming to improve your cold, rainy month with a double-dose of Lebowski goodness on Wednesday, March 28th -- starting with a Big Lebowski Bowling Bash at The Garage, 5:30pm. Get your game on with special guest Jeff "The Dude" Dowd (the real dude! awesome!) for $50, which includes a pair of drinks, appetizers, bowling costs, including shoes, and a chance at some awesome prizes. Best of all, the proceeds go to support SIFF. 

After you down some brews and defeat Jesus (one can only hope someone shows up in a shiny, purple jumpsuit), head over to SIFF Cinema at the Uptown for The Big Lebowski Quote Along. Showtime is at 8:30pm, and the real Dude will also be moving from the bowling party to the theater to help you out with some choice quotage. Tickets: $12 | $7 SIFF Members | $11 Youth (20 & under) and Seniors (65+)

I think sipping caucasians, bowling, and abiding with the Dude seems like a fine way to spend a Wednesday night. Don't you?

One of the more interesting documentaries I saw at SIFF last year, Holy Rollers: The True Story of Card Counting Christians, has been picked up by Warners Bros. and is now streaming on VOD, iTunes, Amazon, YouTube - and a few other places! It's also available on DVD, which you can order from the website. It's really kind of an incredible story, and I have to credit Tennis Pro's David Drury for bringing it to my attention during the fest (he has a small'ish part in the film, and continues to tell me hilarious stories of his Casino adventures).

The gist of how I feel about the film as a whole is that most of the people profiled are total jerks, but it's still a fascinating thing to watch. I went in thinking it was about one thing, and left knowing that I was completely and totally wrong. If you're more like me, you'll still appreciate it - if you're more like Imaginary Embracey ("I wish this movie had been the length of a Big Love episode. An hour with its d*baggy subjects is PLENTY.") - well, you might want to throw stuff at the screen. Or throw up. Or both.

Watch it and let us know how you feel!

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{Kill List opens in Seattle on Friday, March 2, and is screening at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown through Thursday, March 8}

Kill List is one of those movies that you can’t say too much about, or you’ll ruin it for everybody. It’s also really f’ing hard to describe. Part criminal thriller, part horror, part character-driven drama—I don’t know, you guys. I’m still trying to figure it out!

With stark title cards announcing each plot transition (The Priest, The MP, and The Hunchback), and a title frame that’s comprised of an ominous symbol, Director Ben Wheatley sets the tone for something decidedly different.

Starting with a long introduction to family man/assassin Jay and outlining his close relationship with fellow assassin Gal, the film takes its time setting up each character, and then moves quickly through the men’s next trio of “jobs”—which starts out forebodingly, with a handshake sealed in blood.

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I am a total freak and held out reading The Hunger Games for a long time because I am such a HUGE fan of the 2000 film Battle Royale, and I thought the premise sounded a little too similar…but I admit it! I was wrong. THG trilogy was fantastic and I can't wait for the movie. 

That said, I am beyond thrilled that the Northwest Film Forum is screening Battle Royale every Friday at 11pm, starting 3/2 and running through 3/30 - because if you haven't seen it, you NEED TO (regardless of if you're planning to see The Hunger Games or not). 

Battle Royale is all about discipline, or rather, how future Japan keeps unruly High School students in check - by selecting one class to participate in the "BR Act", which basically means a fight to the death, with only one winner. The students are released on an island and have 3 days to murder everyone else in sight, and are fitted with electronic collars that will blow their heads off if they refuse to comply. 

While BR doesn't have as much glamour and ceremony as THG, opting for a much starker vision of the future with less political maneuvering, it does have TONS of splatteriffic blood and gore (yay!). It also has, you know, a plot. With romance, and stuff. Anyway, my point is: GO SEE IT. 

{Battle Royale | Northwest Film Forum | Fridays, 3/2-3/30 at 11pm | Tix: $10, $6 NWFF members}

{Better Than Something is screening at the Grand Illusion Cinema March 2-8}

Like many rock docs, Better Than Something is short on facts. The chronology of events in Jay’s life is vague, discographies are absent, and if you didn’t know the names of all his many bands and side projects before watching it, you still won’t afterwards. What the film does, though, is assemble interviews with Jay and the people who knew him, together with archival concert footage, into a mosaic portrait of the artist. The film gets out of its own way, and places the focus squarely on Jay himself. If you didn’t know who Jay Reatard really was before watching Better Than Something, you’ll have a pretty good idea afterwards.

Better Than Something reveals Reatard as a real punk, in both the authentic and the "asshole" senses of the word. A self-taught musician, Jay played a five gallon bucket on his earliest records because he couldn’t afford drums. He invented new recording techniques in his garage sale-stocked home studio because he didn’t know or care how other people got the job done. He also routinely stormed offstage, abruptly ending his fevered performances, or even continued performing while assaulting members of audience -- or his own band.  He managed to be simultaneously smarter and more messed up than most of the people around him.

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Vintage shop, or someone's home? The friendliest man alive invites random people into his home to browse and talk. (Get out your tissues!)
"That's so beautiful that I could fill that little void for them. That's why I keep my door open."

Design 101: Instructions on creating the perfect modern movie poster.

"The enormity of their flat brain..." Werner Herzog tells you to look a chicken in the eye.

Two great things that go great together: The Jurassic Parks and Recreation tumblr.

I am GOD! The best college recruiting video ever made (warning: not for those squeamish about bloody special F/X!)

Books + Surgical Tools = Insanely detailed art.

Not the bees! The 100 best Nicolas Cage quotes.

Awwwww. Adorable 8-bit Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters.

{Act of Valor opens in Seattle area theaters on Friday February 24th}

The men who serve in the Navy SEALs are true American heroes. The same as the firefighters who ran into the burning towers on 9/11, or a dedicated inner city schoolteacher who spends their own salary on materials for the kids.

SEALs train for years and risk their lives to become the tip of America's spear. Make no mistake, we want them on that wall. It's certainly no deficiency of theirs that none of that rigorous training is focused on cinematic acting. As such, it seems wrong to criticize their performance in a motion picture. I've seen better, but I've also seen far worse actors onscreen than the ruggedly handsome men of Act of Valor who often perfectly channel the blank emoting skills of Keanu Reeves.

Truth be told, the non-professional actors tend to exceed the professionals in this one. Anything negative to follow is squarely directed at the rest the folks involved in Act of Valor, who decided that the way to give their straight-to-video script a marketing boost was to cast active duty military members. Not to mention the decision open with a five minute explanation where the directors speak straight to the camera to set the expectation that if you don't love the film, then you clearly hate America.

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The answer is...Tim and Dan from OK Go. I never thought I'd laugh at the prom confrontation scene, but yeah. These guys!

{They've also re-imagined The Karate Kid and just plain Star Wars.}