DVD OF INFAMY
Given that 50 Cent’s sophomore album, The Massacre (G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath/Interscope) was released five days early on Thursday and is on track to sell upwards of a million copies through the weekend, it’s fitting that The Infamous Times, a new quarterly, music-driven DVD news magazine, decided to move up the release date of its debut edition, which tackles the story behind the superstar rapper’s moniker, by five days as well. The two-hour Volume I: The Original 50 Cent (Vision Plant Pictures/Czar Entertainment) delves into the life of notorious Brooklyn criminal Kelvin “50 Cent” Martin, whose pastime was robbing and killing some of the biggest hustlers on the street during the height of the ’80s crack epidemic, and from whom the current 50 Cent took his name. Hosted by journalist, actor and convicted felon Bonz Malone and featuring Tone Boots (MTV’s Direct Effect) and Griff, the series aims to clue kids into the real hazards of street life and contrast them with the glamorization of thuggery in movies and TV. “We’re taking everybody to task—the politicians, the parents, the young generation,” says Boots, while Creator/Executive Producer Jimmy Henchman (who also manages The Game, Mario Winans, and Black Rob) says, “This story is very dear and close to me, because I knew the original 50 Cent.” Volume I, which has already shipped Platinum, was shot by video director Froi Cuesta and features a driving original soundtrack throughout. Future editions of The Infamous Times promise to highlight more “infamous characters, illicit institutions and dangerous locales from
CALENDAR
Friday (March 4)
6:00-8:30 p.m.
Friday night wine tasting under the stars: Start off the weekend with vino and hors d'oeuvres. Maple Drive,
9:00 p.m.
Tsar, OK GO @ Spaceland
9:30 p.m.
The Game @ Vault 350
11:00 p.m.
Fresh off inking their deal with Velvet Hammer/Columbia Records, Republic will be hitting the stage for the first time this year at the Viper Room.
Saturday (March 5)
1:35 a.m.
Kings of
7:30 p.m.
Check out the Clips as they battle the Denver Nuggets at the
9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Peddler on the roof: Shop for bargains at this funky flea market atop a onetime
3:00 p.m.
10:00 p.m.
Pull out your dancing shoes…uhhh, I mean bowling shoes, and check out the revamped
All day long
We wish our own Je-c a happy 23rd birthday.
Sunday (March 6)
2:00 a.m.
The Original Pantry,
7:50 a.m.
Why you would be up this early on a Sunday is beyond us, but if you are, check out or participate in the LA Marathon.
10:00 a.m.
The Kettle,
2:00 p.m.
The
9:00 p.m.
Brazilian Girls, Something for Rockets @ the Knitting Factory
Upcoming:
Tuesday (March 8)
7:00 p.m.
Limebeck and Hello Goodbye @ the Whisky.
JE-C’S NEW MOVIE RUNDOWN
Be Cool
Starring: John Travolta, The Rock, Uma Thurman, Vince Vaughn, Cedric the Entertainer, Harvey Keitel, Andre 3000, Steven Tyler
Synopsis: Movie mogul Chili Palmer sees a friend killed while he's at lunch, and when he visits the wife of the deceased, he pitches himself as her new business partner, hoping to enter the music industry. Chili takes on a would-be pop star as a client but soon finds himself dealing with Russian mobsters, an incompetent manager, and other complications.
Thoughts: it’s the sequel to Get Shorty, which I loved, and it boasts an all star cast—no wonder this movie has been on my must-see list for a long time. Although the early buzz is that this movie isn’t any good, I am not listening. Hey, a friend of mine told me Eternal Sunshine wasn’t any good, either.
The Pacifier
Starring: Vin Diesel, Lauren Graham, Brittany Snow, Carol Kane, Brad Garrett
Synopsis: Shane Wolfe is a Navy SEAL who has to leave his usual military work to take on his most dangerous assignment yet: protecting the five crazy children of a recently assassinated government scientist.
Thoughts: Hmm…what to say? I’m a big Vin Diesel fan, but I don’t know if he can pull off this role. That said, I still want to see this movie, if only to satisfy my curiosity.
The Jacket
Starring: Adrien Brody, Keira Knightley, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kris Kristofferson, Brad Renfro, Daniel Craig, Kelly Lynch
Synopsis: A veteran returns home to
Thoughts: Honestly, I’m up in the air on this one. It has the potential to be a totally awesome psychological thriller, but it could also stink. The trailer is very odd, and it’s hard to get a real grasp on whether this film is just a total mess or brilliant.
HOLLY'S CORNER
Ray Charles, "What'd I Say?": That undulating and shifting
Tobias Wolff, Old School: The man who gave us the brilliantly turned autobiography This Boy's Life tries his hand at fiction. The result is every bit as eloquent, as elevated, as from the insider perspective as the wonderful book that put Tobias Wolfe on the map—and gave the young Leonardo DiCaprio a breakout role that mattered. Here, between the narrow clearance of classlines and obligations, a sketch of how the privileged and entitled live up, cave under and occasionally fail the pressures of their status is cast as the tableau to embrace the realm of young men coming into their own in an elite secondary school with its own caste system. The language alone is thrilling, the tale both cautionary and chillingly insightful.
Malcolm Gladwell, Blink: In the blink of an eye, you know. You DO. And then you start thinking about it. And out-thinking yourself. And finding yourself in pretzel logic that leads all kinds of places. But in that first moment of almost-beyond cognizant recognition, the truth lies—and The Tipping Point's Malcom Gladwell returns with a well-written, thoroughly explored examination of the mind's deepest reality check. Blink thinking could set you free. Read and learn.
The desk staff, Sunset Marquis,
CC
Million Dollar Baby: Rocky with a double X chromosome in the lean, lithe form of Hillary Swank, again busting down the prevailing perception of female roles and what beauty is. Clint Eastwood slouching toward redemption, craggy, broken, doubtful, striving. Two people seemingly past their prime working against the odds—and, at times, each other. The power of a dream to sustain, the will to go on and the reason destiny chases some like a dog in the night. To feel emboldened, empowered, embraced by something greater, this is all you need.
THE COUNT: ALL THE DESERT'S A STAGE
Jon Wayne is rolling over in his grave. (4/25a)
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THE NEW UMG
Gosh, we hope there are more press releases.
TIKTOK BANNED!
Unless the Senate manages to make this whole thing go away, that is.
THE NEW HUGE COUNTRY ACT
No, not that one.
TRUMP'S CAMPAIGN PLAYLIST
Now 100% unlicensed!
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