Late Night - Brian Williams Raps

In this edition of the continuing series where Brian Williams raps classic hip hop, Brian Williams covers the classic "Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch.

Ride Like the Wind Resurfaces

It's coming up on four years since Christopher Cross performed on the finale of the first ever Yacht Rock Party and the online videos of the performances are long gone. But one of them, "Ride Like the Wind", has resurfaced on vimeo.

If, like me, you can't get enough of this, this is exciting news. Here's Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald and The Roots performing "Ride Like the Wind"...

Jesse and the Rippers Reunite

Jesse and the Rippers reunite for a one-time performance of all their greatest hits. And it all happens on Late Night...



There are two ways you can go with the fact that the vocals are lip synched. Maybe it's sad, cheap and insulting. But they were probably lip synching on "Full House" too so you could take it as perhaps "more authentic". You decide.

Late Night - Jesse & the Rippers; Perm Week

This Friday, Late Night will feature a reunion performance of the legendary band Jesse and the Rippers. The San Francisco band will be playing for the first time in decades. Catch it. It's all part of Late Night's Perm Week.

Rifftrax - Bermuda Triangle

The guys over at Rifftrax have a new riff on the movie "Bermuda Triangle" out. They must have been in a strange mood when they made this new promo to talk about the new release because it's even better than when they discussed "Birdemic"... which was really funny.

Bermuda Triangle:

Return of the Wolfwaker

The journey to liberate the bird-like creatures of Barnard's world had begun with purpose, but readings from the star's core troubled the Wolfwaker. As the Conjoining Plague slowly spread amongst the wolf army, he wondered if they would ever make it home. 

He had witnessed enough pain and cruelty for a thousand lifetimes but still he recoiled at the horrible alien mutations that the plague had wrought. Innocent and loyal wolves were sacrificed - flung screaming into the Ocean of Burning Methane which lay beyond the Great Waste. And now the Bird King had gone mad, calling for a worldwide insurrection against the wolves before he too felt the sting of the Wolfwaker's harmonic spear. 

There were only three keys left to the Quantum Tunnel. Two of them were flying like daggers into the heart of the faltering star...

Stephen Merchant on Drunk History

The first episode of "Drunk History" aired last night and featured a cameo by Stephen Merchant.

In "Drunk History", various regular people get drunk and then tell the story of a particular historical event. Then, actors dramatize the event the way the drunk person told it.

In addition to Steve Merchant as Lincoln, the first episode features Dave Grohl, Jack Black, Fred Willard, Adam Scott, Will Forte and Bob Odenkirk.

The episode can be watched online here. "Drunk History" airs Tuesday nights on Comedy Central.

IMDB 250 - Memories of Murder (2003)

Memories of Murder (2003)

A young woman is raped and murdered in a small South Korean town. The police force looking at the case may be from a rural area, but they have seen their share of murders. Except there's one thing that makes this one different: no evidence. It appears that the killer is a professional - he's systematic enough that they have nothing to go on. Soon after, there is another murder. And then another.

"Memories of Murder" is based on the true story of the first serial killer case in South Korea from 1986 - 1991 which remains unsolved.

Leading the case are two different detectives with two very different methodologies - one from the big city, one from the country. I know that sounds like every buddy cop movie ever but the movie is good enough to make it seem fresh and real. Aside from the almost total absence of guns, there's another aspect that makes this movie rise above the formula - it counterplays the drama of the situation with black humor. South Korea, after all, was under a dictator at that time and police brutality was not unusual. In one scene of the movie, when a detective is unhappy that a suspect will not confess, he dropkicks him after a running start. In a later scene, same situation, another dropkick of the suspect.

Scenes like these are at the heart of why this movie works - it has such a delicate balance to strike and it succeeds. We want justice so we root for these cops but we watch them use brutal tactics and it reminds us of that they're not exactly "the good guys". We want them to succeed to catch the killer and yet, in moments that show their bumbling ineptitude, it works as comedy. It's a very strange and unique stew of feelings and genres.

"Memories of Murder" does all of these things well - it's smart, it twists, it turns, it leaves us guessing. So what's wrong with it? The problem is just the movies format. Police officers trying to track down a serial killer in a procedural drama is something we've (perhaps literally) seen a hundred times before. They find clues, they investigate leads, they bring in suspects - even if these elements are done well (and they are) they can't possibly have the same impact after 3,000 episodes of "Law and Order" have aired.

A very good film - interesting and entertaining - and with a very strong and memorable ending. But it just doesn't rise to the level of being great.

6/10.
Total "Top 250" Movies Seen: 370.

P&S - Tracy Chapman

During a "Music News" story about a heavy metal festival, Preston and Steve get on a tangent about Tracy Chapman.



This clip is highly edited - the actual discussion was much longer and funnier - you can hear the full segment on this episode of their podcast.

Conan Searches for Mug

A mug was stolen in the Conan offices and Conan takes it upon himself to find it.