Three Things That You Need to See This Summer

I know that this blog is focused more on what you hear, but I thought I’d take some time to write about 3 things that you need to peep this summer:

1. Awesome; I…Shot That! The Beastie Boys new concert DVD. The concept falls in line with what the Beasties have always been about, simple yet brilliant. They give a grip of audience members their own cameras to record everything (even a trip to the bathroom!). I mean, I went to see them on this tour and it was the best hip-hop show I’ve seen (complete production), so I was a little concerned. It could have easily been one big headache with unprofessionally shot footage bouncing all around, but with a little creative editing this becomes the best concert DVD that I’ve seen in years. Sure it has the funny bonus features like a BBQ cook-off or “A Day in the Life of Nathanial Hornblower” (it also has a cool feature where you can click on icons that appear randomly throughout the performance that lead you to the back story of what you were just watching), but it’s really the creative editing that makes this special.

Using just basic Photoshop-type techniques, you get to see Mike D drop ‘bows with a girl in the audience ala green screen-ish effects or Ad-rock jump off the screen all of a sudden during “Sabotage.” My favorite though is the battle of the fans screaming in the “World Tour Shout Outs” portion of the bonus features. The editing is hard to explain. So just, Ch-Check It Out! (Unmentioned bonus feature: definitely great to blaze to.)

2. Click. Yes, the movie with Adam Sandler. It was so good, it is the surprise of the summer for me. Out of comedies that I’ve seen like Little Man, Nacho Libre and even Clerks 2 (which I liked), this was the movie for me (granted, I haven’t seen Little Miss Sunshine yet and want to). Yes, I am a fan of Sandler movies like Happy Gilmore (the best of the early slapstick stuff), The Wedding Singer (his best romantic comedy), Big Daddy (his best family film), and even the quirky Punch-Drunk Love. But I also believe I’m objective here as I hated Mr. Deeds (I asked for my money back), Anger Management (what a waste of a golden opportunity) and Spanglish (no comprende).

Click was the comedy of the summer, and for me the movie of the summer, because it wasn’t just a comedy (the trailers fool you). I don’t want to play spoiler for those of you who haven’t seen it yet, but it is one of those movies that mixes genres well (you even get Christopher Walken doing the dance). But like good comedy should, when things get heavy and deep (it’s a tear jerker), it lightens things up. Sort of the family version of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. And like Eternal Sunshine, it’s hard to explain. So just watch the damn thing...YouCanDoIt! But if you’re expecting The Waterboy or even Wedding Singer 3 (I count 50 First Dates as the sequel), then Click is not for you.

3. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. I’ve waited for the preview of this movie like other people have waited for the previews of Phantom Menace or The Return of the King. You know that the original source material is dope, it’s just a matter of how they round it out. In this case, the source material is Da Ali G Show, which was some of the best comedy out before Chapelle’s Show. As comedic chameleon Sacha Baron Cohen becomes either wanna-be hardcore hip-hopper Ali G, gay interviewer Bruno, or innocent foreigner Borat.

What made the show so great was that Sacha would be in full character in real life settings with real life reactions (ie panel for discussion on sexual education or interviewing a politician). No one has a clue that he’s not for real. Will they be able to translate this to the big screen though? I don’t think they succeeded with their first try, the movie Ali G InDaHouse, as it took this real life element away. But the preview for Borat is promising. Hopefully the movie is more like Return of the King than Phantom Menace (Phantom would have been better if it were more like this). If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then no respect!

Sometimes it’s worth taking a look.

:: MISTA HIPPO ::