ENTERTAINMENT

Fall Preview: NBC

Last Year: It was the best of times for NBC (when it had The Voice and football), it was the worst of times for NBC (when it didn’t). While the peacock didn’t leave the basement, it gained a little bit of ground on it’s competitors. Unfortunately, the network’s new shows (especially on the comedy side) didn’t quite pan out as planned, so NBC was forced to fill a ton of holes on it’s schedule.

This Year: For the second straight year on NBC, we see a large number of new comedy options. Coming off of a year in which two of it’s flagship series (in 30 Rock and The Office) left the airwaves, NBC was really relying on some of it’s new shows to slip right in. So when NBC canceled every new comedy (and put Community on the bench in order to stabilize should one of it’s newer shows flop), we knew it was going to be a chaotic fall.

This is most seen in its’ Thursday comedy lineup. Parks and Recreation, the last holdout from last year, opens the night (starting 9/26). From there, we get three newcomers: Welcome to the Family (10/3), focused around two teenagers who find out they’re having a kid, and their families whom have to deal with the consequences, Sean Saves The World (10/3), a Sean Hayes vehicle, and NBC’s most hyped comedy option: The Michael J. Fox Show. The former “Must See” lineup is rounded out by network darling “Parenthood”.

Mondays and Tuesdays remain the purview of The Voice, and again the post-Voice slots go to shows that the network wishes to push, with newcomer The Blacklist and the returning Chicago Fire getting the Monday and Tuesday 10p.m. slots respectively. Leading into the results show on Tuesdays is the returning Biggest Loser, now in its’ 15^th season. All of the aforementioned shows start the week of September 23^rd.

Wednesday remains NBC’s big drama night, and unlike other networks, the Peacock tends to draw from a variety of genres for its’ dramas, putting long-running procedural Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (9/25), with sophomore drama Revolution (9/25) and debuting naval drama Ironsides (10/2). It should be interesting to see how Revolution fares, as last year it struggled without its’ Voice lead in and seems to be on a night where it doesn’t necessarily share the same audience as its’ lead-in.

We get an interesting mash-up of shows on Fridays this fall as well, with news-magazine Dateline flowing into NBC’s Friday night horror block of Grimm and newcomer Dracula. The block comes well after premiere week, debuting on 10/25. Personally, I am surprised to not see Hannibal mixed in there, as a Hannibal-Grimm-Dracula line up seems like a thriller fans murderer’s row (no pun intended).

Weekends on NBC are the domain of football, with the NFL taking the entirety of Sunday Nights for the fall and college sports slowly creeping into that Saturday slot. One interesting wrinkle is that the only show definitively programmed for Saturdays are reruns of SNL in the 10p.m. slot, a move that must be designed to get viewers to tune in after the cast overhauls of the last few seasons.

Tomorrow: It’s time to take a cursory glance at that other network, the CW.

Lucky Strike- Fantasy Football Leagues, Superbowl Tickets and More!

by Ryan Shea

Lucky Strike, the nationally-acclaimed entertainment venue known for its premium bowling, is offering leagues the opportunity to host their fantasy football draft parties at their various locations across the country, including Manhattan and West Nyack. They’re making the drafting process convenient and fun, which is key when bringing leagues together during this important time of the fantasy football season!

Additionally, if your league wants to engage in even more competition, Lucky Strike is hosting “Lucky Football Parlay” at all of their locations. If fans pick 4 or even 10 pro football game winners, they have the opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the 2015 Super Bowl, $10,000 in cash, 2 tickets to your favorite pro football game, $200 Lucky Party gift certificates, free bowling and shoes, and game day food and drink specials.

Oh and here is just a preview of the food and drink that will be provided if you do this whole “league” thing. My mouth is watering already-

The Game Day Menu with made-to-share group patters that consist of: $7 Chipotle Beef Quesadillas, $8 BBQ Pull Chicken Sandwiches, $9 Buffalo Chicken Nachos, $9 BBQ Mini Chicken Burgers, $10 Flatbread Cheeseburger Pizza, as well as $3 Draft & Well Drinks.

The Hail Mary Package includes 3 Hours of Draft Beer & Wine and 2 items from the Spare Snacks Menu, which consists of: Mac & Cheese Bites, Soft Pretzel Dippers, Grilled Apple & Brie Quesadilla, Fresh Made Guacamole, Spinach & Artichoke Dip, Belgian Fries, Classic Cheese Flatbread Pizza, Margherita Flatbread Pizza, Pepperoni Flatbread Pizza, Chopped Tossed Caesar and Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sea Salt. Packages vary by city.

I recently made my first visit to the Lucky Strike location in the heart of Times Square on 42^nd Street between 11^th and 12^th. I was invited with two of my friends to enjoy an afternoon of food, drinks and of course what makes Lucky Strike so great- bowling. The wait staff and managers were incredibly friendly and the food and drinks were tasty and delicious. And of course the BOWLING! I forget how much fun bowling really is and it brings back such great memories from when I was growing up. The energy in there was phenomenal as we played next to some big families and friends alike and it’s a really great place to go to for any type of celebration or if you are just having a great afternoon with your friends.

Time is running out to reserve your spot for the football league! So call 424-2-SCORE-2 or email [email protected] for more information. And of course, stay up to date with everything Lucky Strike by checking out their official site!

Album Review: Shigeto – No Better Time Than Now

by Rio Toro

Shigeto: No Better Time Than Now

Similar Artists: Flying Lotus, Thundercat, Four Tet, Bibio

Genre: Electronica, IDM, Improvisational-Jazz, Wonky

Label: Ghostly International

Let’s all take a minute to absorb the beautiful and absorbent cover art to Shigeto’s latest full length (posted above), No Better Time Than Now. It’s the kind of bright, Asian-tinged water color painting we see frequently among album artwork — especially those of abstract-leaning electronic artists — but still, its vibrant textures and colors seem to leap out from the print and engage the viewer despite a lack of true “originality”. Here lies a notable parable within the music of Shigeto, as while his music easily recalls the kind of spacey, jazz-influenced electronic music recently popularized by Flying Lotus and his Brainfeeder label, it does so with its own individual flare for style, and at its best it even seems to exist somewhat above its contemporaries. I’m not necessarily saying that Shigeto has “perfected” the style brought upon by FlyLo, but only that he has created the next version of it, and thus it exists on a newly developed scale. And yes, I know, with a title like No Better Time Than Now, it would be easy for one to become unwarrantedly sucked into the so-called modernity of it all — and in doing so overrate the album — but title aside, this stands as an accurate representation of where we are in 2013 as far as achieving a state of perpetual chill out bliss.

Shigeto’s previous releases — most notably his criminally underrated Lineage EP — showed off Saginaw’s excellent musicianship — specifically his intricate percussive patterns — but here, he comes into his own as a true producer; one who is capable of forming a neatly contained universe of sounds, where each theme complements the last to form a piece that is larger than the sum of its parts. With that said, drumming might still be the defining aspect of these tracks, as he consistently and adeptly circles through his arsenal of percussive equipment: congos, chimes, tamborines, thumb pianos, timpani and maracas to name a few. Just listen to how busy a track like “Detroit Pt. 1” or “Ringleader” is, and how every few measures there is a clear, noticeable progression, yet the track never feels bloated or overwrought. Only on “Perfect Crime” does Saginaw perhaps become too fully indulged in percussion elements to the point where the remainder of the track becomes drowned out.

Certainly though, with an album with such an obvious jazz influence, their are plenty of space-age keyboards and woozy synths in the mix, and there are tracks which implement more traditional jazz instrumentation; one being the lounge laden “Miss You”, which is practically begging to be put on your relaxing grooves playlist. The chord progressions on tracks like the opener, “First Saturn Return” and the title track are especially notable, as they are impressive from a purely musical standpoint, while also feeling deliciously thick, saturated, and well….”new”. It’s also quite clear that many segments were built off of improvisations, which adds to the feeling of this being an authentic and honest account of who Shigeto is as a musician. Excepting the finale, there are no vocals to be heard on the album, and as far as I can tell, the only samples are those of environmental noises such as falling rain and birds chirping; both of which give the music a very naturalistic vibe. Despite the astral, spaceship conjuring themes on tracks like “Detroit Pt. 1”, when all is said and done this isn’t a bad album to go hiking with.

Unfortunately, on the second half of the album — which is slower paced, more ambient in nature, and less progressive — it turns out that there are some weaker tracks that don’t have as much going for them musically. While “Miss You” originally stands out for its soft, clean-cut guitar, during its second half the mind starts to wander, and it is here — on the 6th of 11th track — where pacing becomes problematic. The following track “Ritual Howl” is notable for its eerie atmosphere, and would have possibly worked nicely as an interlude, but with its 4:28 running time it lacks the intense musicianship featured on the rest of the album. “Soul Searching” is one of the more abstract pieces, and despite the off-kilter, clickety-clock percussion that runs through the 5 minute track, it feels ungrounded and directionless. Its easy to ignore these faults, especially at first, because the musicianship is there, and the sounds — which radiate with a comforting, effervescent warmth — are also there, so you’re not necessarily going to be looking for things to complain about. Also, since the quality jumps back to “A” on the final two tracks, it’s easy to forget that the album was only perfect 7/11ths of the time.

With its fresh, modern take on electronica, there’s a whole lot to love about No Better Time Than Now. From its loads of personality, to its seemingly endless virtuosity, you’ll be hard pressed to find an electronica album that reaches the heights of this one in 2013. I was ready to give it my highest honors after my 3rd and 4th listen; before my incessant listening had to go and ruin it all, that is. It may not have much cross over potential, and it may not be much to come back to come 2014, but as for those of us living in the here and now, this may be as spectacular as it gets.

Track Listing:

1.) First Saturn Return*

2.) Detroit Part 1*

3.) Ringleader*

4.) Perfect Crime

5.) Olivia

6.) Miss U

7.) Ritual Howl

8.) Soul Searching

9.) Safe In Here

10.) No Better Time Than Now*

11.) Silver Lining*

Album Highlight – *

Fall Preview: FOX

by Michael Tyminski

Source: Wikipedia

Last Season: Last season was a mess for Fox, having suffered massive ratings erosion, particularly in it’s key demographic of 18-49 year olds. The network managed to fall back into a tie with ABC for second place overall, a particularly bad sign for a network that up until a couple of years ago had most of the hottest properties on TV.

This Season: Fox seems intent on staying the course all around, not taking many risks in particular, and the end result is a schedule that seems blocked out exactly the same as last year.

The X-Factor (9/17 and 9/18) continues to dominate the scheduling, maintaining it’s three hours of Fox’s primetime a week, taking up the entire Wednesday slate (Fox only schedules two hours of prime-time on weeknights) as well as the first hour of it’s Thursday run. As with last year, we see the results hour of Fox’s singing shows followed up by veteran comedy Glee, which faces stiff competition from the other major network’s offerings.

Even it’s newer shows tend to hew the course to Fox’s typical offerings, as it’s MasterChef gets a spin-off in the form of MasterChef Juniors which will air on Friday nights starting September 20th. This lineup will get bolstered by the returningRaising Hope and the family/Military comedy Enlisted after the World Series.

Speaking of comedies, Tuesday remains Fox’s big comedy night, pairing tentpole New Girl, and returning The Mindy Project with Andy Samberg vehicle Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Seth McFarlane’s newest project Dads, which if reviews for the pilot are correct, clearly was done as an act of appeasement for canceling The Cleveland Show. This lineup debuts on September 17^th.

Mondays remain the primary drama night for Fox, and it is the home to Fox’s most hyped new show: Sleepy Hollow (9/16). The thriller will be paired with veteran procedural Bones (9/16) for it’s initial push until fellow fantasy show Almost Human debuts in November.

Additionally, Fox stays the course with it’s dominant Sunday Animation Domination lineup, which debuts on 9/29. No real changes to this night, as we continue to see the lineup of The Simpsons, Family Guy, American Dad, and (the likely best of the four) Bob’s Burgers. My guess is we’ll see repeats of those shows on the weeks that football ends early or your market only receives a 1pm game.

Fox tends to be affected more by sports in the fall than other networks due to its’ coverage of the MLB playoffs, it’s NFL football coverage (which creeps later than CBS’s as a general rule) and its’ College Football package that airs Saturday nights. This means that as usual, we can expect Fox to hold back a couple of shows until November, and this year it does that with dramas Almost Human (11/4) and Enlisted (11/8).

Tomorrow: NBC had a lot of changes it had to make coming into this year, how did it fare?

Fall Music 2013- It will be epic!!!

by Ryan Shea

Maybe it’s just me, but the music scene so far in 2013 has been pretty legit for the first time in a long time. The summer alone has brought us some inescapable and funk’dafied jams from “Blurred Lines” to “Get Lucky” to “Summertime Sadness” to name a few. It also brought us Miley Cyrus f***ing herself with a foam finger and wearing a Gaga latex rip off Sunday night. I think I am going to vomit. Regardless, with the fall season rapidly approaching it also is a reminder that some of the biggest names in music will be dropping their records in the upcoming months, thus making this guy here very excited for what is to come for 2013 and beyond. Seeing as the VMA’s was a preview for some of the incredible music we are about the unveil in the upcoming months, one can only hope that it will segue into an amazing 2014. Let’s start off with the news that got me insanely giddy.

Eminem- The Marshall Mathers 2.

Eminem as far as I am concerned was MY GENERATION. He was everything to so many of us growing up in the late 90’s and early 2000’s and has continued to be a dominating force not only in the hip-hop industry but in the music industry period. At the Video Music Awards it was announced that his highly anticipated new album, the follow up to 2000’s “Marshall Mathers LP” will be dropped on November 5th and the first single off the album called “Berzerk” has already shot to number one in less than a day of it debuting on iTunes. “Berzerk” is such an insane throw back for so many different reasons yet has a modern edge to it. It also proves why he is the fucking man still practically fourteen years after his debut in 99. Expect this album to do some severe damage on the charts and for him to educate a whole new generation of people on the school that is Eminem.

Katy Perry- Prism

Katy Perry has come quite a way since her days of kissing a girl (I never liked it personally. Not her, kissing girls.) Her last album “Teenage Dream” did the unthinkable in that she tied (and almost topped) Michael Jackson’s record of the most number one singles off of a single album (California Girls, title track, E.T., Last Friday Night, Firework) and received numerous awards and a pivotal nomination for “Album of the Year” at the Grammy’s. Well after a semi-quiet year from her after the long haul of her sophomore album success, she has come back full throttle with the first single off of Prism called “Roar” which quickly debuted at number one on the iTunes charts and raced up to number two on the Billboard Charts (expect it to dethrone “Blurred Lines” this week). The album “Prism” is set to hit shelves on October 22nd and the second single called “Dark Horse” is set to hit airwaves in a couple of weeks. “Blur” is a slower paced version of a lead off single than she normally does but somehow it works as she is very good at belting out a pop hit or two and this album will no doubt compete with Eminem and a couple others for the top spot in the fall.

Lady Gaga- Artpop

As much as I love Lady Gaga, and I really do, she needs this album to be freaking phenomenal compared to what I and many people think was a lackluster third effort with “Born This Way”. That album just felt very rushed and ill planned and conceived as well as it didn’t really hold a candle to what “The Fame” and “The Fame Monster” really did. “Artpop” is set to be released right before Thanksgiving on November 22nd and the leadoff single “Applause” really isn’t taking off like a lot of people thought it would. The song debuted at number 6 on the Billboard Charts where as its biggest competitor “Roar” by Katy Perry debuted at number two instead. She has an insane fan base so it is a given that this album will do well but I don’t think “Applause” was the right start off single. Hopefully her follow up songs will prove why she is one of the best out there right now and a force to be reckoned with in the world of pop.

Justin Timberlake- The 20/20 Experience Part Two

What a comeback year this has been for the prince of pop ey? Part one of “The 20/20 Experience” debuted at number one back in early 2013 with an impressive near million first week sales and nothing has stopped him since. Things really took it to another level with his EPIC VMA performance on Sunday night which included a very abbreviated reunion of the band that made him famous in the first place, NSYNC. He also was the recipient of two major awards that night, The Michael Jackson “Video Vanguard Award” and the ultimate- Video of the Year for his second single off “20/20” called “Mirrors”. Well now expect to hear much more from Justin as part two of “20/20” is scheduled to be released on September 30th with the leadoff single “Take Back The Night” already released last month. Hard to believe you can do two albums in one year, but then again this is a man we haven’t heard any new material from in 7 years, so bring it.

Fall Preview: CBS

by Michael Tyminski

Last Year: Another year, another round of ratings dominance for the Tiffany network. First in viewers overall and a surprise first in the vaunted 18 to 49 demographic, the network sat pretty due to it’s strong veteran lineup of multi-camera sitcoms, venerable reality shows, and cop dramas…lots of cop dramas.

This Year: The last six months have unleashed a nasty truth for CBS: it’s show are aging as rapidly as its’ sterotypical audience is. As a result despite playing it relatively safe, it’s clear that CBS is starting to push towards developing new franchises to replace it’s large roster of 10+ year old series.

This is particularly true on the comedy front, where Monday night tentpole How I Met Your Mother is entering it’s ninth and final season and Thursday mainstay Two and a Half Men is entering it’s 11^th season, rarified air for a live action comedy (only a handful of series have lasted longer). Even The Big Bang Theory is entering its’ seventh season, a place where comedies start to run out of steam. As a result, CBS has split out it’s comedy lineup, adding an extra hour of comedy to Thursday nights in order to find some new shows to make the new landmarks over the next few years.

Amongst the new shows we do see include Mom (9/23) a new Chuck Lorre vehicle starring Anna Faris as a single Mom, We Are Men (9/30) which is about a man whom is left at the altar and gets advice from some older divorced men in his new apartment The Millers (9/26) starring Will Arnett as a divorced reporter (noticing a trend?), and The Crazy Ones (9/26) a workplace vehicle that stars Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar. The new Thursday shows will be sandwiched between Big Bang Theory and Two and a Half Men, We are Men is stuck between CBS’s two Monday tentpoles and Mom gets the benefit of fellow Lorre show 2 Broke Girls as a lead in.

In terms of drama and reality, CBS stays the course. I’m used to seeing the inevitable plugs for 60 Minutes, Amazing Race,The Good Wife, and The Mentalist, during football games, and CBS will get another year out of those same plugs. Person of Interest (9/24) got shuffled off to Tuesdays, where it will be paired with both NCIS franchises. Survivor (9/18) keeps its 8p.m. Wednesday slot leading into Criminal Minds and CSI (both debut 9/25).

Fridays on CBS have much more of a graveyard feel than the other networks this year, as while the other networks (most notably NBC with its’ fantasy block and ABC with its Shark Tank/TGIF lite lineup) have tried to put niche programming on Friday, we see CBS’s weakest procedurals on this night with Hawaii Five-O and Blue Bloods, alongside glorified PR project and de-facto fill in show Undercover Boss at 8 on Fridays. CBS doesn’t particularly program Saturdays during the fall, a recurring trend we’ll find on all four major networks due to college football.

Tomorrow: We look into the FOX network and see what they did to try to stop the bleeding from their recent ratings skid.

MTV’s Video Music Awards- Live From The Red Carpet

by Ryan Shea

After doing this whole blogging thing for the past three or so years, I can honestly say that all my hard work and dedication has somewhat led up to what occurred on Sunday night. I represented Manhattan Digest at the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards on The Red Carpet and stood beside some of the biggest press outlets in the world, from Entertainment Tonight to Reuters to Access Hollywood to name a few. Truly, I felt honored and quite humbled to just be there and the exhilarating feeling of walking across the red carpet was something I will never really forget.

The day started with my trek to Brooklyn from Long Island. Once I got to Brooklyn, I waited in line with a ton of other press outlets who were eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen next. The amazing thing is that even six or seven hours early, there was a massive crowd outside of fans and people alike. I’m so happy that MTV decided to do this in Brooklyn as so many real music fans and performers alike were born and bred here. We were then redirected inside The Barclay Center, where we were treated to some great audio in the sense of all the VMA performers doing their rehearsals. Shortly after, we lined up and made our way to the red carpet where the night really took off.

The red carpet itself was magical in its own way, with stars from across the board showing up for quite possibly the most buzzed about and trendiest award show of the night. Early arrivals from Snooki and Kendrick Lamar got things going and the energy and excitement from the fans on the red carpet and even the ones who were hanging in the buildings adjacent from the Barclay Center was incredible as the sunlight went down and it progressed into nighttime.

We were treated to pre-VMA performances on the red carpet from Artist To Watch winner Austin Mahone and fresh-faced newbie Arianna Grande, who recently scored a top ten hit with rapper Mac Miller in her song “The Way”. Some of the biggest starts towards the end of the red carpet from the Twerking and foam finger loving Miley Cyrus to multiple winners Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Hollywood Legend Will Smith who memorably made the face above when seeing that Miley performance. Tee hee. The only stars that managed to not show up to the red carpet was Britney Spears (who was rumored to be in Brooklyn- DAMMIT!) and Justin Timberlake and NSYNC as they were the surprise performance of the night (that I wish would’ve lasted a little longer. Sad face indeed).

Although I didn’t go to the award show itself, it didn’t really matter to me. I was able to meet and greet people that most people only get a chance to see on the big screen. The whole experience itself was just amazing. I have said this before and will say it again and again- persistence and perseverance pays off in the long run. It always does. If you truly believe something it will happen, without a doubt. Oh and Will Smith said hey to me. The pic is above. Yeayuhhhh. For all things VMA’s and MTV, check out MTV.com

Fall Preview: ABC

by Michael Tyminski

Last Season: Last season we saw some viewer erosion for the Alphabet, finishing fourth in the coveted 18-49 demographic and third overall in ratings. Additionally, the network seemed to strike out on multiple fronts, with many of its’ new dramas getting quick leashes, while it’s two more adult comedy offerings (including critical darling Happy Endings) got the ax. The ratings erosion even affected ABC’s centerpiece series Dancing with the Stars, which is starting to show it’s age.

This season: It seems like ABC is generally staying the course wherever possible, with it’s strong focus on female and family-friendly television. What this means is that the network tended to stay the course most nights, with the exception of it’s Tuesday night lineup.

Speaking of it’s Tuesday night lineup, it starts with some cross-marketing and what in my humble opinion is the most hyped new show of the season: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. The show, which clearly falls into Disney’s cross-promotion wheelhouse, follows the smaller happenings of the Marvel Universe and is leaned to not only provide a backdrop to the greater Marvel movieverse, but also is the clear tentpole show of the night. It is followed up by an hour of new sitcoms in The Goldbergs and Trophy Wife and the drama Lucky 7. All of those shows debut on September 24th.

This new Tuesday lineup exists due to reduction of long-time ratings bulwark Dancing with the Stars (9/16) from two nights to one. It continues to occupy two hours on Monday night followed by detective show Castle (9/23).

From there, we see much of the same with the rest of ABC’s lineup. Wednesdays and Fridays remain family comedy nights, with the return of Wednesday night juggernaut Modern Family (9/25) and 8 p.m tentpole The Middle (9/25). However, the next week we see ABC’s only attempt to break from the dom-com heavy comedy lineup with the Rebel Wilson vehicle Super Fun Night (10/2). Music drama Nashville closes out the Wednesday lineup.

Sunday and Thursday, meanwhile remain as ABC’s nights for it’s soapy, gossipy dramas. The Sunday lineup remains relatively untouched, with last years combo of Once Upon a Time, and Revenge being joined by Betrayal starting on September 29^th. Similarly Thursday nights are the domain of veteran medical drama Grey’s Anatomy (9/19), which is flanked this year by political soap Scandal (9/26) and spin-off Once Upon A Time in Wonderland (10/3).

Finally, Saturdays in the fall are typically occupied by college football on ABC, so there isn’t particularly much to comment on there.

Tomorrow: Tomorrow we take a look at ratings’ leader CBS to see what new tricks the Tiffany network has up its’ sleeve for this year.

The World’s End: Last Call!

by Peter Foy

If you’re a 20-something whose had a strong connection to fanboy culture over the years, than I feel that there’s a fairly good chance that the 2004 romantic comedy (with zombies) Shaun of the Dead was a lot more than just a movie for you. It certainly was for me, as it came out during the year that I was really beginning to understand that my interest in film and television could be used to define my character. It was the year I saw Kill Bill for the first time, and also had begun to get into the zombie films of George A. Romero. Then, along comes this British import that combines my love of genre entertainment with realistic characters, and a sense of humor both dry and quick-witted, and presto! I found the final link to making me decide where my passions and myself lied. Director Edgar Wright and his stars Nick Frost and Simon Pegg hadn’t given me a movie, they had given my a rite of passage, and ever since then I’ve just been a progressively evolving film geek.

It didn’t stop there either though. Two-and-a-half years later the trio came out with a follow-up film called Hot Fuzz that actually managed to exceed my expectations. The film was perhaps even more mad-cap than Shaun of the Dead, but also still managed to have the heart and humor to make it really great, all while doused in buckets of gore. It also certainly didn’t hurt that the film came to America the same month as Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse did, and needless to say both films got me high-off movies again. I would then go on to watch their earlier British sit-com Spaced (my review), and grew increasingly eager for their next project, as Wright, Frost and Pegg had said that they envisioned Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz as entries in a trilogy, which has since been referred to as The Blood and Ice Cream Trilogy or The Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy. Thing was, it was a bit of a long wait, as the critical success and recognition that they received led them to plenty of lucrative offers from Hollywood that filled up their schedules for the next few years. Now, six years after Hot Fuzz and nine since Shaun of the Dead, the trio have finally reunited for the concluding chapter of their trilogy, fittingly titled The World’s End. As expected, my anticipation for this film was sky-high…which more often than not leads to disappointment. Fortunately though, The World’s End mostlyy satisfied me, as it’s fast, visceral, clever, thoughtful, but also slightly underwhelming.

Simon Pegg stars in the film as Gary King, a former drug-addict pushing 40, who opens up the film by reminiscing about his high school days while at an AA meeting. He recalls a time when he just finished high school, and he and a group of friends attempted to go on a fabled pub crawl through their hometown. Referred to as “The Golden Mile”, Gary and his friends tried to get drinks from all of their town’s twelve pubs, but they never completed the task. Now, wanting to revisit his glory years, Gary reunites his friends who now all have successful careers and families, unlike him. Upon returning to their place of origin, however, it become predominantly clear that something is amiss, and it just so happens to be…

To be honest, the more left unsaid about The World’s End’s plot is for the better, as it’s clear that Wright has intended for this movie to be a big surprise, as he kept very mum about the film’s storyline until months before it’s release. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he fought the studio to not release a trailer that gave away that the film had supernatural elements in it. Over the years I’ve had several conversations with friends where I’d find myself discussing what Wright, Pegg, and Frost would conjure up for the final installment of their trilogy. We all pretty much agreed that it was logical that they would do a science-fiction movie, as it’s such a rich genre for the these pop-culture addicts to pass up, and it was evident that the success of their last two ventures would give them a bigger budget to work with this time around. I don’t think anyone expected, however, that they would do a movie that wears these particular influences so firmly adjusted on their sleeve. The World’s End borrows elements from Invasion of the Body Snatchers, as well as channels the cheeky sci-fi tone of Douglas Adams’ beloved novel, Hitchhiker’s Guide to The Galaxy. It’s certainly an out-there idea for a film, but it also is prime territory for these nerdy Brits

In the hands of a lesser director the movie would almost instantly go to being a silly mess, but fortunately Wright once again shows that he’s as firm and dedicated a filmmaker as any other living today. As with all of his previous films, The World’s End shows Wright can capture daily life as well as he can high-end spectacle and goopy viscera. Just like the other two films in the trilogy, it’s very commendable that this film doesn’t have any fantasy material for the first half-hour, as it establishes that the world here-in is not drastically unlike our own. At times the directing and editing can get a bit showy and monotonous (I know it’s jokey, but did we really need rapid close up shots of the character buckling up their seat belts?), but for the most part the viscera is constantly enticing, and it makes me anxious to see how Edgar Wright’s long-gestating Antman movie will look. I for one think it will probably look pretty awesome.

Thing is The World’s End succumbs to a lot of the same issues that other trilogy closers face: it’s just not as fresh as it was the first two times around. Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz felt like passion projects as it was self-evident that these guys didn’t just watch lots of movies, but they understood how they worked too. The World’s End, however, seems to be missing the singularity factor of the previous two films, and while it certainly doesn’t come off as an after-thought, it often seems like it’s sole reason to exist is to merely cap off two greater films. It’s also doesn’t have as many laugh-out-loud moments either, and the film also has a pacing issue that’s similar to the one that was in Wright’s last film. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World also had a story built around the format of a “hero’s journey” so to speak, where our protagonist had to get from point A to point B to point onward. Once you realize that Gary and his troupe won’t reach their final destination until they hit the 12th pub, then the film can certainly be viewed as being a bit linear. In fact, the film also made me realize that Hot Fuzz is probably the strongest film of the trilogy, as that film also took a really bizarre movie premise stemmed from pop-culture indulging, but did it in a way that felt more natural, while also being funny and surprising at a more consistent rate.

That said, it’s certainly interesting that the archetype roles that Simon Pegg and Nick Frost usually play have been reversed for The World’s End, with Pegg now portraying the loose cannon while Frost is the “straight” one of the group. In fact I’m gonna say Pegg is the film’s ultimate scene stealer, and really does a great job of humanizing the film’s reckless main character. At first it’s easy to see Gary as being a hedonistic prick with a repellent nature, but as the film becomes more fantastic there are plenty of scenes that give the character honor points. With his gothy style and devoted attitude, I wouldn’t be surprised if the character became a bit of a poster boy for nerd culture. Hell, I already have half of this guy’s clothing attire, so don’t be so surprised if I decide to be Gary King come this Halloween.

Before I close this review I will say this: what an ending! I certainly won’t be giving anything away, but I will say that Wright ends this movie in a really surprising fashion, which is even more unexpected giving the logical trajectory the film goes through most of it’s running time. I honestly feel that there was a movie on-par with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz in World’s End, if only they had elaborated more on the final scenario. Still, while it’s far from perfect, The World’s End is a fine trilogy closer and a very different film to close out the summer movie season with. Neck-to-neck with This is the End for the title of 2013’s best zany post-apocalyptic comedy.

2013 VMA’s Live Blog

by Michael Tyminski

Good afternoon everyone! I’m Mike Tyminski and I’m here to live blog tonight’s VMA’s. The VMA’s are an interesting time for MTV, as the network formerly known as Music Television celebrates the art form they use to showcase on the network known as the music video. Where the VMA’s shine compared to their other award ceremonies is that the focus remains on the here and now and make for an interesting yearbook photo of what was hot in 2013. This year’s awards look to be a slug fest between Miley Ray Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop”, Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines”, and Justin Timberlake and Macklemore’s fuller suites (each has three different videos nominated for at least one award). Also of particular importance tonight are the rumors of a possible *NSYNC reunion as one of the performances at the show. I’ll be back at 8:45 to give play by play and live blog the show – I’m skipping red carpet this time around since we have Manhattan Digest’s very own Ryan Shea there to cover the proceedings and give reaction from Brooklyn. I look forward to seeing you all then!

8:45 PM – Random viewing notes from the pre-show:

-Watching Austin Mahone is like someone stole DNA from every late 90’s boy band and mixed it together to create a one man boy band the likes of which Earth has never seen.

-A couple of early awards were given out — 30 Seconds to Mars took best Rock video for “Up In the Air “, and Pink and Nate Ruess took down the award for Best Collaborative video for “Just Give Me A Reason”, with 30 Seconds to Mars receiving their Moon Men on the pre-show. Both awards were mentioned at breathtaking speed.

-Danity Kane announced their reunion at the Red Carpet tonight.

-Katy Perry is calling her performance “Rough, Tough, and Ready to Rumble”, her performance of “Roar” is closing out the show tonight.

-One Direction is slaughtering the vote for Song of the Summer, up 4 million votes on it’s nearest competitor, I think it’s safe to say they’re taking this one.

-Tonight’s show is opening with Lady Gaga’s performance of her single “Applause”. The single sounded middling to me, but a Gaga performance is all about the visuals anyway.

Be back right with any last minute news right before showtime.

8:58 p.m.: Seems like things have quieted down on the red carpet (the last five minutes are devoted to the trailer for Divergent and an interview where star Theo James (Golden Boy) stumbles through an interview) and Lady Gaga is set to open the show (though a Gaga/Perry bookend admittedly feels very 2009). Ryan will have the remainder of the news and reaction from his time in Brooklyn tomorrow. I’ll be going segment to segment with the usual play by play and focus on performance.

9:12 pm: So Lady Gaga’s performance was…I guess what we’d call typical Gaga? It seemed to focus on the various stages of Gaga, as it opened with Gaga looking akin to a flying nun and ended up with a triumphant Gaga in seashell bra. Along the way, there were numerous dancers clad in black who existed to both augment and obscure Gaga during the numerous mid-song costume changes. I thought it was kind of a mess as a whole, but I could totally see where someone would get into it!

From there we kick it to One Direction, who were cued in by a PA announcer, and announce the nominees for Best Pop Video:
Bruno Mars “Locked out of Heaven”, Miley Cyrus “We Can’t Stop”, Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”, Selena Gomez “Come and Get It”, and Fun. “Carry On”.

The winner is: Selena Gomez, “Come and Get it”

We get the announcement that the Artist to Watch award (presented by TACO BELL!) can be voted on via text message.

9:28 pm: Continuing the trend of being an awards show not focusing on awards — they breeze through the technical awards in about 60 seconds — I’m gonna try to grab those during a commercial break since they deserve recognition, Justin Timberlake seemed to take the lion’s share.

Miley Cyus and Robin Thicke, then performed next, with Miley Cyrus legitimately rocking out to her guitar riff laden evil Teddy Bear entrance before going into “We Can’t Stop”, which has three award nods tonight before seguing into Blurred Lines with Miley playing Pharell…it’s not the most technically brilliant thing, but Miley looks to be loving every minute of this and it’s perversely entertaining on a level that I can’t comprehend. This then swerves into a cameo by Kendrick Lamar and 2 Chainz. This performance, unlike Gaga worked because all of the chaos and **ahem** run-ins ended up building to something much bigger.

Lil Kim then comes out and mentions how excited she was to see the VMA’s in Brooklyn and announce the Nominees for Best Hip Hop Video
Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “Can’t Hold Us”, Drake “Started From the Bottom”, A$AP Rocky f. Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar “Problems”, J. Cole ft. Miguel “Power Trip”, Kendrick Lamar “Swimming Pools (Drink)”.

The Winner is: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “Can’t Hold Us”

We get a quick speech from Macklemore about rapping on a Pirate Ship

9:42 pm: Kevin Hart comes out to get some more love for the performance and juice the crowd. An advertisement plays to text for artist to watch (Sponsored by TACO BELL!)

Jared Leto then comes out to heap praise on Kanye West, who is performing his single “Blood on the Leaves” off of Yeezus. It starts with Kanye bathed in red light before performing in shadow in behind a wooded image projected onto a TV. This is the first truly great performance on the show tonight, and the audience seemed off of its’ hands for the first time after it. Personally I was pretty amused by a 20 second stretch at the end of the song in which MTV censored out about 14 of those seconds.

9:46 pm: And we come back to the VMA’s with a few seconds of Pharell, Nile Rodgers, and Daft Punk performing “Lose Yourself to Dance” before coming out to announce the nominees for Best Female Video

Taylor Swift “I Knew You Were Trouble”, Miley Cyrus “We Cant Stop”, Demi Lovato “Heart Attack”, Pink Ft. Nate Ruess “Just Give Me A Reason”, Rihanna “Stay”.

And the winner is: Taylor Swift, “I Knew You Were Trouble”.

Taylor gives the standard issue (and Kanye free) awards speech before taking a dig at John Mayer.

Ed Sheehan comes out to announce the nominees for the award for best video with a social message

Macklemore and Ryan Lewis f. Mary Lambert “Same Love”, Kelly Clarkson “People Like Us”, Beyonce “I was Here”, Miguel “Candles in the Sun”, Snoop Lion ft. Drake and Corey B. “No Guns Allowed”.

And the winner is: Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, “Same Love”

We get another quick heartfelt award speech from Macklemore before cutting to commercial.

10:24 pm: We come back to Jimmy Fallon who waxes about his 2002 VMA hosting gig before introducing Justin Timberlake, who gets a long video entrance that touches every hit he’s had a solo artist. He’s performing “Take Back the Night”, starting in the lobby of the arena with a large and growing posse of dancers before entering the arena floor. We then get a spinning camera effect before we find Justin on stage performing “Sexy Back”. Justin seems to be owning this whole moment, even slipping a “bitch” through our incredibly vigilant censors, he then rolls through “My Love” which comes through an extended dance breakdown before walking through the pit during “Cry Me A River” (Which he doesn’t sing). The performance then moves to a dance floor in front of the large moon man for “Rock Your Body” (which comes with another extended dance breakdown). Focus then moved back to the stage for the a quick *NSYNC cameo (short enough it wasn’t a full scale reunion) with a quick quote from “Bye Bye Bye” before quickly seguing back into “Suit and Tie” and “Mirrors”. Jimmy Fallon returns to the scene to present Timberlake with the Video Vanguard award. Fallon’s gushing speech was highlighted by making sure to list The Lonely Island classic “Dick in a Box” not once but three times during the award announcement (also for those keeping score, he managed not to corpse during the speech).

Timberlake gave a real humble speech, giving props to to his directors, his choreographers, and NSYNC.

So…takeaways from that 20 minute concert? 1) Justin…you owe it to America, please do the Super Bowl halftime show….please? 2)If you want an *NSYNC reunion in earnest? It’s not happening anytime soon…the Bye Bye Bye spot was wedged in pretty nonchalantly and was breezed through in about a minute.

On a side note, Lady Gaga is still wearing the same seashell bra while rocking out in the crowd. I don’t know why I think it’s important, but I feel like you never see people wear their performance outfits in the stands.

10:40 PM: Kevin Hart sends it over to DJ Cassidy who plays a quick kicker, before Kevin insists that he is not the host, he’s just called upon to do more stuff but not before commenting on Lady Gaga’s yams before once again mentioning the nominees for artist to watch (Sponsored by TACO BELL!)

Vampire Weekend comes out to introduce the award for Song of the Summer, speaking of which, the nominees for Song of the Summer are:
Miley Cyrus “We Can’t Stop”, Robin Thicke ft. Pharell and T.I. “Blurred Lines”, Selena Gomez “Come and Get It”, Calvin Harris f. Ellie Goulding “I Need Your Love”, One Direction “Best Song Ever”, and Daft Punk “Get Lucky”.

The Winner is: “Best Song Ever” by One Direction (Pete Townshend’s house is safe)

Harry comes out and thanks the crowd before introducing the video’s director.

Jason Collins and A$AP Rocky arrive on stage to introduce Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, whom perform “Same Love”. Macklemore is clearly emotional through the first verse, moving more towards the fire of a preacher in his voice by the end of the second verse as opposed to the more conversational tone that comes with the single. Jennifer Hudson drops into deliver the third chorus before quoting a quick phrase of “Not Crying on Sunday” with Mary Lambert, who provided the other chorus’s.

10:49 PM: We finally get the announcement for this years Artist to watch award, and the nominees are.

Austin Mahone, Iggy Azalia, The Weekends, 21 Pilots, and Zedd

And the winner is: Austin Mahone

A starstruck Mahone, thanks all relevant people including God AND MTV, which according to some might be counteracting forces. Unfortunately he didn’t thank TACO BELL who sponsored the award.

The show cuts to the surviving members of TLC (T-Boz and Chili), whom are here to introduce Drake, whose standing in front of a video screen in a manner that’s mildly reminiscent of Frank Ocean’s “Forrest Gump” performance from the Grammys. He gets mobbed by fans while trying to get to the stage to perform “Started from the Bottom”. Drake ends up in the pit by the second verse.

Looks like most of the awards are finished…we’re down to just Best Male Video and Video of the Year if my account is right.

10:58 PM: Taylor swift comes out to announce the award for best Male video

Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”, Bruno Mars “Locked out of Heaven”, Ed Sheeran “Lego House”, Kendrick Lamar “Swimming Pool (Drink)”, Robin Thicke ft. TI and Pharrell “Blurred Lines”.

And the winner is: Bruno Mars “Locked out of Heaven”.

We get a lightning quick thank you out of Bruno before cutting to commercial.

11:10 PM:
A quick update on the technical awards front — only posting the winners so that I can keep up on play-by-play

Best Directing — David Fincher for “Suit & Tie”
Best Choreography — Bruno Mars (self-choreographed) for “Treasure”
Best Visual Effects — Capital Cities “Safe and Sound”
Best Art Direction — Veronica Hodgson for Janelle Monae ft. Erykah Badu’s “Q.U.E.E.N”
Best Cinematography — Macklemore ft. Ryan Lewis “Can’t Stop Us”

Selena Gomez is out to introduce Bruno Mars, who’s here to perform his new single, “Gorilla”. Bruno’s performing this slow jam in a leopard-print heavy version of his standard look. It’s a pretty blase performance surrounded by a ton of pyrotechnics. Earlier in the show I would have probably enjoyed it more, but after Kanye, JT, and Macklemore tore it up in their own respective ways this performance feels like it’s just there to fill time until Katy Perry’s show closing performance. It probably didn’t help that his big falsetto note was completely overpowered by the backing tape.

In other news, Katy Perry is walking towards the Brooklyn Bridge to perform “Roar” in about 15 minutes. She’s rocking some boxing gear, which I’m pretty okay with on the basis of how prominently the words “Eye of the Tiger” are placed in the song.

11:23 PM:
During the break, Pepsi announced that Katy Perry’s new single “Dark Horse” will drop on September 17th.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt comes out to announce the nominees for Video of the Year in what could be described loosely as “an old timey western voice” which was clearly appropriate for the situation.

The nominees for video of the year are: Bruno Mars “Locked Out of Heaven”, Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis “Thrift Shop”, Taylor Swift “I Knew You Were Trouble”, Robin Thicke f. T.I. and Pharrell “Blurred Lines”

And the winner is: Justin Timberlake “Mirrors”

Justin gives props to all of the performances, before mentioning how the video was a tribute to his grandparents.

Allison Williams from Girls enters to introduce Katy Perry, who is performing her single “Roar”. The boxer gear goes with a fuller motif as the entire performance takes place in a makeshift boxing ring dance floor by the Brooklyn Bridge. I feel like this performance would have actually been better inside if only for the acoustics being better captured allowing for better use of the crowd roars.

I’ll be back in a few minutes with some final thoughts from the show.

Final Thoughts:

Well…that first hour felt like a trainwreck, moving at I Love Lucy conveyor belt speed. However, 10p.m. hit, the VMA’s officially ended, and the Justin Timberlake Show began, things became a lot better. And that’s important, because even with strong performances by Kanye, Macklemore, and Katy Perry, do not kid yourself…this was entirely Timberlake’s show. It seemed like most of the awards were taken by either himself or Macklemore. Of course, while they took a sweep of the awards this show truly felt like MTV treats awards shows the way they treat music 365 days a year, as many of the awards felt like window dressing compared to the performances. If you’re catching this on tape delay, the best approach is to just fast forward through every talking bit and go straight to the performances, which were either really good or really weird.

That’s it for me tonight, it’s been three whirlwind hours and 2500 or so words. Next week there isn’t much new TV so I’m taking the opportunity to roll out some fall previews for the major networks (and the CW even!) Thanks everyone for tuning in, and stay connected to Manhattan Digest tomorrow for Ryan’s report from Brooklyn!

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