The Juliana Hatfield Threereleased their debut albumBecome What You Are back in 1993, and the group have reunited to release their sophomore album Whatever, My Love on February 17 via American Laundromat Records.
The group worked on the album at Nuthouse Recording in Hoboken, NJ, with Hatfield and Tom Beaujour (Nada Surf, Minor Alps, Guided By Voices) serving as producers of the 12 songs.
Although the debut album yielded the hits “My Sister” and “Spin the Bottle” (it was featured on the Reality Bitessoundtrack), the trio each went their separate paths. As Hatfield has continued her career as an indie artist and collaborator (Some Girls, Blake Babies, Minor Alps), Todd Philips ventured off to a career in the film industry and also has been touring as the Lemonheadsdrummer. Bassist Dean Fisher has plied his trade in the Boston music scene with Dylan in the Moviesand Tanya Donelly.
Juliana Hatfield Three – Band Photo (American Laundromat Recordings)
Whatever, My Love, along with exclusive bundle items (shirts, button), are available for pre-order at American Laundromat Records.
In support of their album, the group will tour North America in February and March of 2015 (details are TBA). To listen to the band’s catchy track “If I Could,” listen to the audio below:
Marvel Contest of Championsis a free to play app that is now available in the App Store and on Google Play. The game, a collaboration between Kabam and Marvel Entertainment, contains over 25 unlockable characters from the get-go.
Kabam
With Marvel Contest of Champions, gamers will craft a group of heroes and villains taken from Marvel’s extensive universe, and along with single player campaigns there’s also player vs. player (PVP) mode for gamers who love a bit of online competition.
A sign that this app may have legs lies in its creative direction, as Marvel Comics scribe Sam Humphries (The Legendary Star-Lord) penned the game, which features a group of heroes who team up to take down such other worldly villains as Kang the Conqueror and Thanos.
“It was awesome working with Kabam to develop a unique storyline for a video game that stays true to the Marvel Universe,” said Humphries. “Watching the heroes and villains come to life as playable characters on my phone is beyond epic.”
Kabam
“We could not be more excited about Marvel Contest of Champions,” added Jay Ong, VP of Games, Marvel Entertainment. “The team at Kabam has done an amazing job of translating the heroic combat and dynamic visuals that Marvel fans know and love into an action-packed gameplay experience for mobile devices.”
To download Marvel Contest of Champions for iOS, please go to this Apple Store link.
Scott Speedman (TV’s Last Resort, Dark Blue, Barney’sVersion)returns to Atom Egoyan country with the psychological thriller The Captive (the pair previously worked on the 2008 feature Adoration).
Released exclusively on DirecTV last month and opening in New York December 12, The Captive centers on a landscaper named Matthew (Ryan Reynolds) who is haunted by the disappearance of his daughter. In the eight years since her abduction, Matthew and his wife Tina (Mireille Enos) understandably cling to their child’s memory, hoping that one day they’ll find a resolution to their tragedy.
Rosario Dawson and Scott Speedman are the dogged detectives who continue to search for the girl’s kidnapper (Lost actor Kevin Durand). With the use of his trademark (yet still fresh) non-linear narrative, Egoyan weaves a compelling tale of obsession, manipulation, and ultimate redemption.
During the interviews for The Captive, I asked Scott Speedman about the innovative creative spirit that drives Atom Egoyan.
He’s just not interested in telling simple, down the line, obvious stories. It’s a very challenging thing he does and I think that’s what sets him apart. He’s very brave in his choices.
I also asked Scott Speedman about being selective over his movie and TV roles. He gives a pretty funny answer as he talks about his career:
The Captive, which also stars Alexia Fast (Manhattan) and Bruce Greenwood (Mao’s Last Dancer, Devil’s Knot), also opens in Los Angeles December 19.
Flyhunter Origins from developers Steel Wool Games and Ripstone publishing came out on the PS Vita yesterday in the U.S. and today it’s available to download on PC and Mac for $6.99. (through December 17, Steam is offering 30% off the title)
Players will take on the role as the alien spaceship janitor Zak, a wannabe Flyhunter who must save Earth from a slew of insects that have escaped from the vessel. Since the Flyhunters are in cryo sleep, it’s up to Zak to hunt down the cargo and be the hero he’s probably always wanted to be.
The PC screenshots as well as the trailer (not to mention the affordable price point) makes Flyhunter Origins a promising game. I’m a big platformer fan, so I definitely have high expectations for Flyhunter Origins – a review of the title should be coming within the next few days so stay tuned!!
Joaquin Phoenix’s most frequent collaborations have come with director James Gray (The Immigrant, Two Lovers, The Yards, We Own The Night) and Inherent Vice marks his second cinematic experience with filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (their first was the 2012 drama The Master).
During the interviews for Inherent Vice, Joaquin Phoenix talked about why he loves collaborating with Paul Thomas Anderson:
“He’s really inclusive and warm and thoughtful – He’s one of those people that makes you feel you’re important and you have value – even if you don’t. He deserves all the credit.”
Phoenix also added that Anderson’s approach to a scene isn’t based on rigid story structure, but instead the auteur enjoys exploring the creative avenues that each moment of film provides. Click on the media bar below to hear Phoenix’s full answer:
Co-starring Josh Brolin, Reese Witherspoon, and Katherine Waterston, Inherent Vice opens in limited release December 12 and nationwide January 9, 2015.
Inherent Vice – (Warner Bros. Pictures, CR: Wilson Webb)
Anna Kendrick’s musical talents are on full display with Pitch Perfect and the upcoming Into the Woods, and with director Richard LaGravenese’s “The Last Five Years,”she’s singing a few notes about love and marriage.
Based on the Jason Robert Brown musical, The Last Five Years centers on the up and down romance between a Jewish novelist (Jeremy Jordan) and a struggling actress (Anna Kendrick). Shot in just 21 days in New York City, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, the film is told almost entirely through song.
LaGravenese, who sees The Last Five Years as this generation’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, previously directed Beautiful Creatures, P.S. I Love You and Freedom Writers. He’s also a credited screenwriter for the upcoming WWII feature Unbroken and penned the HBO movie Behind the Candelabra.
The Last Five Years hits theaters and VOD on February 13.
Jack White, in collaboration with technology company Jaunt, is dipping his fingers into the app world with Jack White: Third-D.
The mobile application enables users with a Google Cardboard viewer and a 5″ or 6″ Android phone to view White and his band in a eye-catching visual manner. Thanks to Jaunt’s stereoscopic 3D cameras and 3D sound-field microphones (the music is mixed in Dolby Atmos), app users will hopefully be part of an immersive experience as they watch White perform such tracks as “Freedom at 21” and “Ball and Biscuit” at Fenway Park and “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground” at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.”
Third Man Records is also giving away a special editioin Third Man Google Cardboard headsets for the first 75 Android users that buy White’s “Lazaretto” Ultra LP at the Nashville store on Wednesday, December 10. An in-store demonstration of the new app will also take place.
In other White news, Lazaretto received three Grammy award nominations (Best Alternative Music Album, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Performance).
Starting January, White hits the road with a stop at the Austin Music Hall. Here are the updated dates for his 2015 tour:
January 24 – Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall
January 25 – Austin, TX – Austin Music Hall
January 27 – Starkville, MS – Humphrey Coliseum at Mississippi State University
January 28 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena
January 30 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
March 12-14 – Bogota, Colombia – Festival Estereo Picnic
March 14-15 – Santiago, Chile – Lollapalooza Chile
March 21-22 – Buenos Aires, Argentine – Lollapalooza Argentina
March 28-29 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Lollapalooza Brazil
Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike deliver some of their best work in David Fincher’s crime thriller Gone Girl, and the hit film comes out on Blu-ray and DVD January 13 via Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Gone Girl Blu-ray Cover – Twentieth Century Fox HOme Entertainment
Based on the bestseller by Gillian Flynn, the serpentine plot centers on an unsuccessful bar owner named Nick (Ben Affleck) who is accused of killing Amy (Rosamund Pike), his highly intellectual and emotionally distant wife. With the police (led by Kim Dickensand Patrick Fugit) hot on his trail and enveloped within a huge media circus, Nick hires a prominent defense attorney (Tyler Perry) to clear his name. But with Amy’s body nowhere to be found and the residents of his sleepy town slowly losing faith, Nick Dunne’s prospects appear extremely dim.
Rosamund Pike as Amy Dunne in ‘Gone Girl’ – Twentieth Century Fox (CR: Merrick Morton)
Gone Girl comes with a new “Amazing Amy” story titled “Tattle Tale,” and the 36-page children’s book is only available with the purchase of the Blu-ray edition.
Along with “Tattle Tale,” the Blu-ray also comes with audio commentary from director David Fincher.
The American Film Institute (AFI) have announced their selections for AFI Awards 2014. The list includes 11 movies and 10 TV programs that were “deemed culturally and artistically representative of the year’s most significant achievements in the art of the moving image.
“We celebrate these films and television programs as more than just milestones in a year of excellence.” said Bob Gazzale, AFI President and CEO. “They are a part of our American cultural heritage – collectively, a new chapter in the story of the art form and of our nation.”
This year’s jury board (one for each category) included producer/writers Vince Gilligan (Breaking Bad) and Marshall Herskovitz (thirtysomething, Once and Again), director Kasi Lemmons (Eve’s Bayou, Talk To Me), actress Phylicia Rashad (Cosby Show), film critic Leonard Maltin, and cinematographer Matthew Libatique (Black Swan)l
The honorees will attend the annual AFI Awards private luncheon January 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, Ca.
Tonight is the first holiday themed episode of The Fosters, and if you’ve been a fan of the show, you probably realize things don’t go as planned in the Foster household (its unpredictability, coupled with the ability to successfully pull on our heartstrings, is one of the show’s strongest facets).
So don’t expect a ho-hum season’s greetings on tonight’s episode, which is titled “Christmas Past.” The installment, which marks Jude (Hayden Byerly) and Callie’s (Maia Mitchell) first ever Christmas with the Fosters, also features a spirited guest appearance from Annie Potts as Grandma Sharon.
Although Stef (Teri Polo) has her own issues with her mom (Potts) over a plot detail I’m not going to give away, she isn’t the only Foster who’s having the Christmas blues. Lena’s (Sherri Saum) own past troubles with her sibling have an indirect effect on Jude (Hayden Byerly).
“Lena actually has a half brother that she doesn’t talk about because they had a falling out years ago but this Christmas episode is an opportunity for Lena to perhaps start mending some fences with that,” said Saum. “It’s what Christmas is good for – (it’s) kind of bringing families together.”
Teri Polo, Jake T. Austin in “The Fosters” (ABC Family/Eric McCandless)
Will the Fosters have a loving holiday dinner, and will Stef mend fences with her free spirited mom? And even though the episode centers on a “Christmas past,” part of the installment also focuses on what happened right after Callie (Mitchell) and Brandon (David Lambert) kissed.
The Fosters Christmas episode airs tonight on ABC Family at 8 pm et/pt.
DAVID LAMBERT, MAIA MITCHELL (ABC FAMILY/Rony Rivetti)
***Even though Maia Mitchell and Bailee Madison (aka Callie’s trouble making sister Sophia) really do look like sisters, Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale threw her DNA hat into the ring. Check out the photo below:
