I saw this video on Colossal, my favoritist internet art site. This kid, Caine, built himself an arcade... out of CARDBOARD BOXES. Not the likeness of an arcade. Not a representation of an arcade. An actual arcade. Now maybe it's because Caine reminded me of Jameson, but my eyeballs might have gotten a little moist while watching.
If I had a mind left to be blown away, it would be splattered across the office wall right now. YouTube user kutiman has created another, maybe better, mashup of random, unrelated, YouTube music pieces. This is why the internet was invented.
This seems like a pleasant way to start a Monday morning. It's vaguely reminiscent of a Wes Andersen movie with all the dialogue parts removed. You'll probably want to watch it a few times...
WORDS from Everynone on Vimeo.
Made by Everynone (in Collaboration with WNYC's Radiolab & NPR)
For a moment, let's take a break from the child-bragging, photo-sharing, and other nonsense that usually occupies this blog. Let's get a little serious.
Let's talk about Bring It On. Or as French Canadians know it, Le Tout Pour Le Tout.
This Sunday, August 22, marks the ten year anniversary of the release of the Double Rainbow of modern film: Bring It On. It's hard to believe that this landmark movie was gifted to us a mere decade ago while it's cultural influence seems to reach back centuries. So often today's theater fare trades substance and artistry for mindlessness and spectacle. It's rare that we're challenged with the intellectual acrobatics that quench the mind and soul the way director Peyton Reed provokes us in this, his magnum opus, Bring It On. Having seen this chef-d'œuvre a full 97 times myself, and at one stretch on 26 consecutive nights, I can honestly give my unbiased opinion that Bring It On is in fact the greatest movie ever made. And it introduced the world to "spirit fingers."
Bring It On follows über athlete Torrance Shipman and her tale of rejection, revenge and ultimately redemption as she embarks on her senior year of high as the newly elected captain of her high school's champion cheerleading squad. Torrance is deftly played by Kirsten Dunst in what may be the only 99 minutes of her career where I don't want to claw her face off with my bare hands. Paired with a spunky performance by up-and-comer Eliza Dushku (who goes on to near Oscar nomination worthy performances in The New Guy and The Coverup) as Missy Pantone, we get a brilliant dichotomy that blossoms into a friendship that could only be forged on the stage of competitive teen cheering. As if this isn't enough, industry clydesdale Lindsay Sloane makes an appearance as lovable firecracker, Big Red. And who can forget the heart wrenching performance by that one guy from that one hacker movie that had a young Angelina Jolie in it? This is one of those few exceptional films where all of the actors wield the hammer of theatrical performance with such precision and synchronicity that you are destined to walk away with a migraine of dramatic veneration.
But don't just take my word for it. A decade ago, the film world was abuzz, singing the praises of this amazing piece of modern art. Along with an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Dance Sequence and two Teen Choice Award nominations for best actress (Dunst) and best film (that's a comedy), Bring It On took home the granddaddy of them all, the Audience Award from the Czech Republic's Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth. To this day, even the staunchest critics admit that had the Academy Awards existed at the time of it's release, Bring It On would have swept every single category including Best Period Costumes, Best Use of the Song "Cherry Pie" by Warrant, and Best Claymation.
Bring It On changed my life for the better and I want nothing more than to share that experience with you. While my letter writing campaign to Universal Studios yielded an encouraging cease-and-desist court order, my best efforts were still not enough to achieve my ultimate goal of a 10th anniversary theatrical re-release of Bring It On. But that shouldn't stop the Bring It On community from celebrating this momentous occasion. Whether you're one of the 1% of humans who never got to caress their eye and ear balls with this treasure, or you're a diehard fan wanting to visit Rancho Carne High School one more time, there are still ways join the anniversary celebration this weekend. While the Netflix catalog is, generally speaking, rather sparse, they were smart enough to obtain several copies of the Bring It On DVD. If you hurry, you may be able to have one shipped to your home in time for Sunday viewing. However, if you're smart, you'll follow the lead of the many movie aficionados that have managed to secure their own copy of Bring It On by scouring the "classics" bin found in most of the nation's finest truck stop gas stations.
Join me this Sunday night for a worldwide simultaneous viewing of Bring It On at exactly 9:30 PM Eastern and relive the greatest event in movie history.
And as Torrance would say, "Take a whiff. This movie's the poo."
Image by Adventure Time character designer Phil Rynda via Fred Seibert on Flickr.
Adventure Time on Cartoon Network. It's the single greatest show on television and the only program for which I make time to watch. I cannot get enough of Finn the human boy and Jake the wise old dog. Watching makes me feel pure.
New episodes air Monday's at 8:00. You would be wise to tune in. It's the righteous thing to do. Click here for a full episode.
