Wanted

Based on a graphic novel, the violent tale revolves around Wes (James McAvoy), a meek 25 year-old office worker who hates his life. His boss berates him, and he can�t even summon the balls to tell his slutty girlfriend to stop sleeping with his best buddy. But his world is suddenly rocked when Fox (Angelina Jolie)--a mysterious, tattooed woman with a gun and a red sports car--takes him on the ride of his life. She takes him straight to The Fraternity, a centuries old legendary group of hired assassins who live--and die--by their code: Kill one to save a thousand. Seems Wes� long-lost father was a member who has just been whacked, and he is now summoned to join up and unleash the inner killer in his genes. After a rigorous training regimen in which he is almost beaten to a pulp, he emerges as the organization�s new golden boy and finds self-esteem in his new exciting alternative lifestyle. However, the group�s enigmatic leader Sloan (Morgan Freeman) may have other plans in store for Wes that he isn�t quite sharing at the moment.McAvoy simply rocks as the most unexpected action star of the summer, and that includes a season so far that has given us the quirky offbeat castings of Robert Downey Jr. and Edward Norton in Marvel comic book franchises. McAvoy (Atonement) has buffed up for the part but still looks like the average Joe, exactly why the audience has a rooting interest as he becomes a fish-out-of-water in a group of hit men (and women). You�re with him all the way. This unusual choice is exactly what sets the film apart and makes it a complete original in an over-worn genre. Jolie, on the other hand, is absolutely who you would expect to play the heavily tatted Fox. Guns blazing, feet slamming the pedal, gorgeous and talented at taking guys out (of life), Jolie�s a card-carrying member of a club previously thought only open to men. She exudes cool and has never looked hotter. Freeman is at his best. He commands the screen adding his usual stoic presence to the proceedings with a nice twist that lets him show a creepier side than we usually get. Other members of the �club� are competently played by ever-reliable Terence Stamp, German-born bad guy Thomas Kretschmann and rapper Common, who shows he can keep up with the big boys--acting and other-wise.Hiring the Russian director Timur Bekmambetov for a summer action flick like this might have seemed an odd choice but anyone who�s seen his Hollywood-style homebaked hits, Night Watch and Day Watch would know this is a visual stylist with no current equal in the action genre. His English-language debut is vibrant and pulsating, alive in every way and thankfully more comprehensible story-wise than his previous work, if no less fantastic. You still have to completely suspend belief for complete enjoyment, but it�s all worth it. Bekmambetov seems incapable of staging anything in an ordinary way, taking routine set-ups and turning them into violent, bruising works-of-art. There�s not a single uninteresting shot in the entire movie which moves like the speeding train we see in one of the film�s most imposing sequences. Scene for scene this may be the most visually inventive, trail blazing film of its kind in light years. Bring on the sequel.

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Anthony Rother

   
Artist: Anthony Rother

   Genre(s): 
Techno
   

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Discography:


   
 Art Is A Technology-(Stahl_1)-CD

   Year: 2005   
Tracks: 1


   
 Hacker

   Year: 2002   
Tracks: 11

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Joaquin Phoenix Struck Down With Stomach Flu

Joaquin Phoenix has been forced to cancel an appearance at the Cannes Film Festival due to the stomach flu, his rep confirmed on Tuesday (May 20).The actor was due at the premiere of his new movie 'Two Lovers' on Monday, however, doctors recommended Phoenix visit a hospital prior to visiting the festival.Susan Patricola, the 33-year-old's rep, told People.com that, "Joaquin has the stomach flu.  He had his dog boarded, his tux in hand but couldn't even sit on the plane. He did go to the hospital to get hydrated, hoping he could get on the plane but he didn't stay there. He was so sick – and so sorry he couldn't be there with everyone."Photo courtesy of Fox 2000 Pictures.

Gnarls Barkley lines up 'Odd' handful of dates

While it may not be the full summer tour the group's fans were hoping for, Gnarls Barkley continues to add dates in support of its latest studio set, "The Odd Couple."The duo--multi-instrumentalist/producer Danger Mouse and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green--currently show scattered concert appearances throughout the summer months, including the June 7 Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, an outdoor music fest also featuring the event's namesake, The Roots, plus Santogold, Deerhoof, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings and other artists.The pair also has a number of European dates lined up; the complete overseas schedule is available at the group's website. US dates are shown below.The band released its second studio album, "The Odd Couple," in March, three weeks earlier than originally intended, citing an Internet leak in a coyly written statement that appeared on the band's website."With the shifting seasons, furtive romantic entanglements and fierce college basketball rivalries, the latter half of March can be confusing," said the statement. "People need to be soothed and inspired now. Or maybe the early release was due to the fact that a digital version of the album has already been leaked online?"Gnarls Barkley began creating controversy even before the release of the follow-up to its 2006 debut, "St. Elsewhere," which garnered the duo two Grammy awards in 2007 (Best Urban/Alternative Performance for "Crazy" and Best Alternative Music Album).The video for "Run," the first single from "The Odd Couple," was banned in early March by MTV UK, which said it failed to pass the Harding Test, which determines if strobe effects have potential to trigger epileptic seizures, according to published reports. An edited version of the video, which features Justin Timberlake, was submitted to the network and is now running in the UK, while the unedited version continues to air on MTV in the US.

Arson Squad Investigate 'Suspicious Fire At 50 Cent Home'

An arson squad has been called in to investigate a fire at a home owned by US rapper 50 Cent.



The property, in the tree-lined neighborhood of Dix Hills, was savaged by fire in the early hours of Friday morning.



Six people, including 50 Cent’s ex-girlfriend Shaniqua Tompkins and their 10-year-old son, were admitted to hospital following the fire. They have since been discharged.



A spokesperson for the fire department said that the arson squad had been called in "because of the intensity of the fire, and also being that who belongs to the house."



The home is currently at the centre of a bitter dispute between 50 Cent, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, and Tompkins.



Tompkins filed a lawsuit against Jackson earlier this year, alleging that he had backtracked on a promise made ten years ago to give her the property.



It’s understood that the rapper wants Tompkins and their son to be evicted from the home, reports the Associated Press.



In a statement yesterday, Jackson’s spokesperson said the rapper had “expressed deep concern” over the fire.



"He is extremely thankful that everyone including his son, Marquise, escaped the burning house safely.



“He is confident that authorities will be conducting a thorough investigation of the incident and is eager to review their findings."



Jackson is currently filming a new movie in Louisiana.

 

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• Shahram Nazeri
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• Brian Wilson back at Capitol for next album

Tearful Jodie Wins I'd Do Anything

A tearful Jodie Prenger won BBC talent show ‘I'd Do Anything’ last night.
The 28-year-old actress from Blackpool burst into tears after being told she had secured the role of Nancy in a new West End production of musical ‘Oliver!’ with her performance of Whitney Houston's ‘I Have Nothing‘.
Prenger won the public vote from 18-year-old Jessie Buckley, who West End legend Andrew Lloyd Webber had supported.
However, he said, “It was always going to be the people's choice."

No Fear tour spotlights Bullet For My Valentine, Bleeding Through

Welsh metalcore outfit Bullet For My Valentine will mount a headlining tour this summer with a trio of other hardcore acts under the No Fear banner.The lifestyle/clothing brand will sponsor the band on its 23-city trek across North America, kicking off July 14 in Milwaukee. All current dates are shown below, and additional shows in September are expected, according to a press release.Southern California deathcore sextet Bleeding Through [ tickets ] will grab second billing on the trek, which also features support from Canadian hardcore punks Cancer Bats [ tickets ] and Miami-based heavy metal unit Black Tide. Bullet For My Valentine is backing its breakthrough studio album, "Scream Aim Fire." Released in January, the disc shot to No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart, moving 53,000 copies in its first week. The album's title cut and first single peaked at No. 16 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, and also topped the UK rock chart. The set's second single, "Hearts Burst Into Fire," was released in late March. The video for the song can be found streaming at the band's MySpace page.Bleeding Through will issue "Declaration," its fifth studio album, in August. The CD follows 2006's "The Truth," and will represent the band's "heavier" side, according to a recent interview in Revolver magazine."The melodies are darker, the riffs are heavier," frontman Brandan Schiepatti told the publication. "We just wrote a really aggressive record that encompasses everything we've ever tried to do as a band and then raised the bar a notch or two."