Captain America: The First Avenger was written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely and was directed by Joe Johnson (“Jumanji”, “2001 Jurassic Park III”, “The Wolfman”). The movie takes place in the earlier years when volunteer Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) decides to participate in an experiment that literally takes over his life. Steve develops an alter ego known as “Captain America”, who has a main goal and focus is to defend the world against evil. This comes as no easy task for Steve and he joins forces with James ‘Bucky’ Barnes (Sebastian Stan) and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who wage a war against the villains of the world.

Captain America: The First Avenger Movie trailer HD

Today I will be introducing a musician who’s making one hell of a career as an actor: Sting . Yes, in case you didn’t know this bassist – and frontman of The Police – has been doing pretty well on camera… But let’s start from the beginning.

Who is Sting?

Sting came into the world as Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner on October 2nd 1951. You should all know by now that he is an English musician, singer-songwriter, activist, actor and philanthropist. Prior to starting his solo career, he was the principal songwriter, lead singer and bassist of the rock band The Police. His first music gigs were wherever he could get a playing job so at first he performed in jazz groups on evenings, weekends, and during breaks from college and from teaching. He played with local bands such as the Phoenix Jazzmen, the Newcastle Big Band, and Last Exit.

The name “Sting” was given to him after he performed wearing a black and yellow sweater with hooped stripes while onstage with the Phoenix Jazzmen. Bandleader Gordon Solomon thought that the sweater made him look like a wasp and there you have the nickname’s origin. When addressed as “Gordon” by a journalist at a press conference filmed in the movie Bring on the Night, he jokingly stated, “My children call me Sting, my mother calls me Sting, who is this Gordon character?”

In January 1977, Sting moved to London where he joined Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers to form the band The Police. Between 1978 and 1983, they released five hit albums and won six Grammy Awards. According to Sting, he decided to leave The Police while onstage during a concert because he felt that playing that venue was “Everest” (he was talking about the concert at Shea Stadium on August 18, 1983). While never formally breaking up, after Synchronicity the group agreed to concentrate on solo projects. As the years went by, the band members, particularly Sting, dismissed the possibility of reforming but in 2007 the band reformed and undertook an amazing world tour.
Thank you, Wikipedia.

What about his acting career?

1979 – Quadrophenia

He first appeared in the silver screen as Ace Face (the King of The Mods) in the movie adaptation of The Who album Quadrophenia in 1979.
Synopsis: London, 1965: Like many other youths, Jimmy (Phil Daniels) hates the philistine life, especially his parents and his job in a company’s mailing division. Only when he’s together with his friends, a ‘Mod’ clique, cruises London on his motor-scooter and hears music such as that of ‘The Who’ and ‘The High Numbers’, he feels free and accepted. Always on a high, life can’t get any better. But just like they say “what goes up must come down” and with Jimmy’s come-down, his life is turned around, and so begins his downward spiral into paranoia and isolation, and the four-faceted mindset: Quadrophenia.
Director: Franc Roddam

1980 – Radio On

The following year Sting appeared on another movie, this time his character was a rockabilly loving petrol station attendant by the name of Just Like Eddie.
Synopsis: Britain, 1970s. A man (David Beames) drives from London to Bristol to investigate his brother’s death. The purpose of his trip is offset by his encounters with a series of odd people. This film was shot in black and white and features music from Kraftwerk and David Bowie among other new wave bands from the time.
Director: Christopher Petit

1984 – Dune

This time directed by worldwide known director David Lynch , Sting got into the shoes of Feyd Rautha .
Synopsis: In the distant future, a man appears who may be the prophet that a long-suffering galaxy has been waiting for. In case you didn’t know, Dune is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert .
Director: David Lynch

1985 – The Bride

Sting as Baron Frankenstein… Unexpected, right?
Synopsis: After years of research, the doctor finally succeeds in creating the perfect woman, who gets the name “Eva”. This is a remake of the old classic film Bride of Frankenstein. Director: Franc Roddam .

1988 – The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

Well, this is getting too long so I decided to select a couple of films I really enjoyed. This one is one hell of an awesome movie and Sting appeared as the Heroic Officer.
Synopsis: The fantastic tale of an 18th century aristocrat, his talented henchmen and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from defeat by the Turks. Being swallowed by a giant sea-monster, a trip to the moon, a dance with Venus and an escape from the Grim Reaper are only some of the improbable adventures.
Director: Terry Gilliam

1998 – Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

This one is a must-see film. I don’t know why most people don’t even know this movie exists! In this opportunity, Sting portrayed J.D., Eddie’s father and owner of a bar.
Synopsis: Four London working class stiffs pool their money to put one in a high stakes card game, but things go wrong and they end up owing half a million pounds and having one week to come up with the cash.
Director: Guy Ritchie

Mars Needs Moms

The movie follows a young boy named Milo (Seth Green) who sets out on a mission to rescue his mom ( Joan Cusack ) after she, as well as other moms, are kidnapped by Martians from Mars, who are intent on bringing Earth’s moms to their planet to raise their “children”.

Mars Needs Momsis the latest big-budgeted 3D animation feature from Walt Disney Pictures and its production uses the same motion-capture technology chosen by Robert Zemeckis while making The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol. This film is expected to perform well enough at the box office, even though it seems it’s going to be a children’s choice.

But we’ll have to wait since  Mars Needs Moms ‘ official release date is March 11th, 2011. Good thing is it will be available on both Disney Digital 3D and IMAX 3D.

Mars Needs Moms Movie trailer HD

Lewis is best known for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she received an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. But I think her best film is Natural Born Killers ,where she shared the big screen with Woody Harrelson (a w e s o m e  actor BTW).

Also she’s got some major roles in What’s Eating Gilbert Grape , The Evening Star and Robert Rodriguez‘s From Dusk Till Dawn. She also appeared in TV series such as Dharma & Greg, My Name Is Earl and Memphis Beat .

To date, Lewis has worked with some of the best directors in the industry, including Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Lasse Hallström, Oliver Stone, and Garry Marshall. She has been recognized as one of Hollywood’s most talented and versatile actors of her generation.

Juliette and the Licks

So, here’s where I stop writing about Juliette Lewis and begin my music band recommendation. Juliette and the Licks was an American rock band formed by lead singer Juliette Lewis, guitarist Craig Fairbaugh and guitarist Emilio Cueto, bassist Jason Womack and drummer Ed Davis.

They released their first EP … Like a Bold of Lightning in 2004, which was shortly followed by the release of their debut album You’re Speaking My Language in 2005.

After listening to You’re Speaking My Language, you can tell Juliette Lewis was born to front a rock ‘n’ roll band -just like Axl, Patti Smith , Chris Robinson, Courtney Love or PJ Harvey-. Nothing here sounds forced and that’s definitely a good thing when it comes to actors-turned-rockers. This album includes two hits: “You’re Speaking My Language” and “Got Love to Kill”.

Juliette and The Licks released their second album Four on the Floor in 2006. I really enjoyed this one, specially the second track “Hot Kiss” which was one of the Licks’ most successful singles.

“Hot Kiss” is probably the best work this band has ever done: the song’s insane shrieking, wacky riff and joyful “Your little girl wants to ffffff…” breakdown definitely makes the tune memorable.

With the release of their second album, the band went on tour in late 2006 in America and many parts of Europe.

In a 2009 Myspace blog, lead singer Juliette Lewis announced Juliette and the Licks was at the “end of its run”. Explaining that she needed a change to grow as an artist and after that she formed a new band called The New Romantiques.

Lewis also did a cover of PJ Harvey‘s “Hardly Wait” and “Rid of Me” in the film Strange Days before forming Juliette and the Licks. Here’s her cover of “Hardly Wait”:

Juliette and the Licks MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/julietteandthelicks

The first pick is Bad Taste, a movie considered to be a cult science fiction comedy horror film. It was produced on a low budget and it is one of the first films directed by Peter Jackson. Yes, the same Peter Jackson from Lord of the Rings. And Jackson did more than just directing, he also starred the film and his friends taking a number of key roles, both on and off-screen.

Bad Taste (1987)

Director: Peter Jackson

Writers: Peter Jackson, Ken Hammon, Tony Hiles

Synopsis: The population of a small town disappears. Derek and his friends must investigate the missing people in a small village. Then they find out its human formed aliens that are really big headed monsters that used all the people in the small village into their snack burgers. Now, Derek must save the day and the world with his chainsaw before the meat eaters strikes the whole planet. Will Derek kill all the aliens?

Logorama

What’s this short film about?

The story follows two Michelin tire guys (as cops) who chase a terrorist Ronald McDonald. These three characters were performed by Bob Stephenson and the cast includes Aja Evans as Esso Girl, Joel Michaely as Big Boy/Mr Clean, Matt Winston as Haribo, David Fincher as Pringles Original and Sherman Augustus as Bibendum Mitch, among others.

Logorama was presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2009. It opened the 2010 Sundance Film Festival and won a 2010 Academy Award under the category of “Animated short”.

I didn’t get the chance to see the entire short film (all 16 minutes) earlier but yesterday I ran into it while wandering around Vimeo and I must say I loved it as much as everyone else, which is exactly why I’m featuring it here today.

Logorama from Marc Altshuler – Human Music on Vimeo.

According to FirstShowing, Carpenter is set to adapt the 90′s comic book series Darkchylde. In case you didn’t know, Darkchylde is an American comic book created in 1996 by Randy Queenwhich follows the life of Ariel Chylde, a teen who is cursed to become the creatures from her many recurring nightmares. Every time she transforms, the girl sheds her skin and a new nightmare emerges from her Id to act out her deepest, darkest impulses. Ariel then must save her small town from the forces of darkness she’s set free.

“Randy Queen’s hijacked angel, Ariel Chylde, is the best young female character since Laurie Strode in Halloween. Bringing Ariel and her dark mysteries to life should be quite an adventure for us all.”, says Carpenter

Darkchylde was launched as a comic book in the summer of 1996 and it shot to the # 1 hottest comics spot in Wizard, where it stayed for nine months collectively in both Wizard and Combo magazines. Darkchylde outsold Spider-man, Hulk, Superman and Batman in America -and both Spider-man and the X-men overseas-, and quickly garnered an unusually large female following, in stark contrast to the traditionally male comic book market. Everybody loves Darkchylde.

The casting of Ariel Chylde will be integral to the success of the film, and knowing Carpenter everyone thinks he will go out of his way to land an unknown talent to lead the film. Aside from the talent, the prospect of Carpenter working with Weta Workshop is certainly a great selling point. Weta Workshop is multi-award winning conceptual design and special effects company based in Miramar, New Zealand best know by their work with director Peter Jackson‘s film trilogy The Lord of the Rings.

Richard Taylor (Weta Workshop) recently released some test footage for the film which gives us an interesting idea of where this film is headed.

A couple of weeks ago I posted a still from the movie I’m about to recommend at my Tumblr and someone posted a comment saying it was great to see someone who also appreciates Punch-Drunk Love … I realized then that there’s a lot of people who haven’t seen this film and probably never heard about it either. Well, that’s not ok and later I will explain you why.

Punch-Drunk Love (2002)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Cast:
Adam Sandler as Barry Egan
Emily Watson as Lena Leonard
Luis Guzmán as Lance
Philip Seymour Hoffman as Dean Trumbell
Mary Lynn Rajskub as Elizabeth

There’s no way you’ve seen Paul Thomas Anderson‘s work without falling in love with him. From Boogie Nights to There will be blood – and don’t forget about Magnolia!- this director has been showing us he knows what he’s doing and that he’s not improvising: Anderson likes to introduce different film techniques and keep on exploring movie after movie not only from the director chair but also as a writer.

Well, apparently after releasing Magnolia, Anderson stated that he would like to work with Adam Sandler in the future and that’s exactly what he did. Sandler forgot about the comedy he usually delivers and stepped into the set wearing a darker hat.

Punch-Drunk Love brings us Barry Egan, a small business owner whose life is… sad. He has seven sisters who ridicule him regularly -’cause that’s what sisters do to their brothers- and that has lead to a lonely existence. Barry hasn’t found love yet and he keeps on denying almost everything that happens to him. Denial + seven overbearing sisters + loneliness = sadness and anger ‘issues’.

But everything changed one morning, after he witnessed a bizarre car accident, decided to pick up an abandoned harmonium from the street, and encountered Lena Leonard, who orchestrated the meeting after seeing him in a family picture belonging to his sister Elizabeth, a co-worker of Lena’s. Love is in the air for Barry and Lena, two troubled souls immersed into an unconventional love story.

Punch-Drunk Love includes some unexplained incidents (a car crash, an abandoned harmonium) but as soon as the love story develops I understood there’s no need to explain such things. You could say Anderson decided to focus on his own hyper-real celebration of true love.

Barry and Lena enjoy their Technicolor romance on a peculiar way and after looking for adjectives to explain their love I decided the best way was quoting them:

Barry: I’m lookin’ at your face and I just wanna smash it. I just wanna fuckin’ smash it with a sledgehammer and squeeze it. You’re so pretty.

Lena: I want to chew your face, and I want to scoop out your eyes and I want to eat them and chew them and suck on them.

Emily Watson as Lena is perfect but you can’t help but thinking that it’s Sandler‘s movie. Barry is a violent person -who could be considered to be a dumbass, really- but he certainly has an urge to be shocked out of his lonely and sad existence (are you thinking of the scrap-happy characters in Fight Club?). Sandler has no choice but leaving the conventional funny guy at the door and walking into the set as this odd disconnected person.

You don’t know Adam Sandler until you’ve seen this movie: he gave an intelligent, pained-behind-the-eyes performance most people won’t believe he could deliver.

Punch-Drunk Love Official Trailer

I do understand those who believe Punch-Drunk Love is a slow odd movie but there’s much more than those two adjectives to describe Anderson‘s fourth film… Fractured, weird, lonely characters. Complicated, unpredictable romance. Freaky phone-sex hotline conversation leading into money extortion. Aggressively loud music composed by Jon Brion and Anderson himself. Occasional appearance of kaleidoscopic images. Never-seen-before Adam Sandler performance… Just introducing the reasons why you should go for Punch-Drunk Love right now.

30 Rock

Returns: 2010-11-03

In case you didn’t know…

Liz Lemon, head writer of the sketch comedy show “TGS with Tracy Jordan”, must deal with an arrogant new boss and a crazy new star, all while trying to run a successful TV show without losing her mind. Tina Fey stars, writes, and produces this extra-funny workplace comedy that is a behind the scenes look at a frenetic television variety show.

And how did the last aired episode of 30 Rock Season 5 end?

Jack is having a perfect day and succeeding at all of his tasks, so he decides to use his winning streak and help Liz figure out her relationship with Carol. Meanwhile, Jenna and Kenneth enlist Kelsey Grammer to help them pull off an ice cream scam, and Tracy tries to shoot a commercial for the Boys and Girls club.

Bones

Returns: 2010-11-03

In case you didn’t know…

A prosaic forensic anthropologist and a cocky FBI agent build a team to investigate death causes. And quite often, there isn’t more to examine than rotten flesh or mere bones.

And how did the last aired episode of Bones Season 6 end?

After a skull and decomposing hands are found in a dumpster, the team must not only solve the crime but also search for the rest of the victim’s remains. Identified as Ray Raminsky, the victim turns out to be a bounty hunter in search of Charles Braverman, a man indicted for the murder of a co-worker. Meanwhile, Brennan is asked by Professor Bunsen Jude “The Science Dude” if he can shoot an episode of his children’s show from The Jeffersonian Lab with Brennan as his special guest. Brennan initially turns him down, but is surprised when he makes her a deal she can’t refuse, so she takes him on as a new “squintern.” As the team pieces together the details of the crime, they discover that they are not alone in the hunt for Braverman and find themselves in a chase with an unexpected suspect.

Fringe

Returns: 2010-11-03

In case you didn’t know…

A television drama centered around a female FBI agent who is forced to work with an institutionalized scientist in order to rationalize a brewing storm of unexplained phenomena.

And how did the last aired episode of Fringe Season 3 end?

Newton, concerned about the consequences of a distressing development involving a high-ranking official, is forced to call to action a sleeping shapeshifter. As Walter and the rest of the team gather evidence, they move the investigation to Massive Dynamic, where Olivia goes on high alert and Walter finds himself in a perilous situation.

House MD

Returns: 2010-11-07

In case you didn’t know…

Dr. Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) is devoid of bedside manner and wouldn’t even talk to his patients if he could get away with it. Dealing with his own constant physical pain, he uses a cane that seems to punctuate his acerbic, brutally honest demeanor. While his behavior can border on antisocial, House is a maverick physician whose unconventional thinking and flawless instincts have afforded him a great deal of respect. An infectious disease specialist, he’s a brilliant diagnostician who loves the challenges of the medical puzzles he must solve in order to save lives.

And how did the last aired episode of House MD Season 7 end?

After a newborn experiences inexplicable breathing problems and liver failure, House and the team look at the baby’s mother, Abbey’s, own medical history for possible clues. When the team makes a discovery about her newborn’s health, Abbey is presented with a difficult decision that could potentially affect both her baby’s health and her own. Meanwhile, following Cuddy’s directive, House challenges Foreman and Taub to hire a female doctor to join the team. When Cuddy asks House to babysit her daughter, both House and Wilson learn a few hard lessons in parenting.

Showing his music to Marie Antoinette

rule my life… And what does all these have to do with Jason Schwartzman? Well, in case you didn’t know Schwartzman is also a musican and he currently has a band quite beatle-ish.

Schwartzman is best known for his roles in Wes Anderson’s Rushmore & The Darjeeling Limited, Jonas Akerlund’s Spun, David O. Russell’s I ♥ Huckabees, Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette and the recently released Scott Pilgrim vs. the World by Edgar Wright. As you may have noticed, I couldn’t help but including the names of those directors who chose him and the reason for doing so is that Wes Anderson, David O. Russell, Sofia Coppola and Edgar Wright are extremely talented directors.

Before becoming a recognized actor, Jason Schwartzman was the drummer and a songwriter for the band Phantom Planet. He actually left the band to pursue his acting career, which was taking off because of Rushmore but you can tell music remains one of his passions and pastimes.

"Davy" by Coconut Records

In 2007, he created an indie rock band by the name of Coconut Records and their first CD, entitled “Nighttiming” was produced by Mike Einziger (Incubus). In 2009, their second

album “Davy” was released and here’s where I will stop this biographic description and begin the music review.

First I feel I must confess I’ve heard Coconut Records first single “Nighttiming” (off of the album Nighttiming) and I thought it was say too poppy so I forgot about Schwartzman’smusic career until I ran into their second album “Davy”.

“Davy” sorts of combines The Beatles’ aesthetic -which I presented to you when I began writing this post- and sensibility with a little bit of Elliott Smith and Sean Lennon.

The best example I can think of right now is the lead single of this album: “Microphone”, a beautiful song that sticks to your brain. Here’s the official video:

Schwartzman shows he is in love with pop songs but you will also find some more experimental tracks. Lyrics-wise the album deals with loneliness and isolation since the majority of the songs have to do with leaving or searching for a greater meaning in something. The songs are well performed, well sang, well composed, well recorded and that’s what makes “Davy” a great album.

Coconut Records reminds me of Sean Lennon’s Friendly Fire: “intimate bedroom pop-rock”. I guess their music might be an acquired taste, even though I seriously recommend you to listen to their second album “Davy” which is easy-listening and will certainly create a nice atmosphere around yourself.

Coconut Records Official Site: http://www.youngbabyrecords.com/

Coconut Records MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/coconutrecords