Movie Review: Breaking Upwards

Album Review: Mighty Tiger's Western Theater

What's in the Inbox: Stat Quo "Success (Back to U)"

Tee Pee Records recently announced that doom-metal group Ancestors’ second album is coming this fall. Of Sound Mind will feature 8 new tracks in contrast to their debut, the critically-lauded Neptune’s Fire, which had only 2 epic songs. The album features production by Pete Lyman, who has also worked with Mars Volta and No Age.

Keep checking back with Insulinfunk for a review sometime before the October 6th release date. Make your wagers now on which phrase will appear first in the review: “whale-sized riffs,” “doped-out organ grinders,” or “existential art metal.”

The 2009 Harvey Awards Nominees have officially been announced. They’ll be presented at this year’s Baltimore Comic-Con on October 10, 2009 during a ceremony hosted by PVP’s Scott Kurtz.

After perusing the nominees below the jump, feel free to leave a comment with any predictions or people you felt were left out.

And the nominees are:
BEST WRITER
Kyle Baker, NAT TURNER, Abrams books
Ed Brubaker, CAPTAIN AMERICA, Marvel Comics
John Gallagher, BUZZBOY, Sky Dog Comics
Continue reading 2009 Harvey Award Nominees

Marvel is currently offering the prelude to Captain America Reborn through its Digital Comics Unlimited service. The Ed Brubaker-penned, 8-page tale leads directly into the forthcoming Captain America Reborn, which will be on sale tomorrow.

The comic world seems to bracing itself for Barack-sized attention for this one. Should you desire a copy, we’d suggest adding it to your pull list immediately.

If you follow the world of indie rock or indie games closely, you might’ve heard of Chris Schlarb. He has been involved with several interesting music projects (Create (!), I Heart Lung, My Brightest Diamond), and recently composed 45 minutes of original music for the forthcoming Night Game on the Nintendo Wii. Now, he’s delving into the world of film with We Scream: Voices from the Ice Cream Underground.

Schlarb produced the trailer embedded below in hopes of acquiring financial backing via the internet. He has already met his goal, but if you’d like to donate after watching the trailer, he probably wouldn’t mind.

We Scream Trailer from Chris Schlarb on Vimeo.

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Playsation 3 owners feeling burned by the removal of backwards compatibility may soon have reason to celebrate. Sony, according to IGN, recently filed for a patent for a piece of software that would grant all Playstation 3 consoles the ability to play Playstation 2 games.

How exactly this will be implemented has yet to be seen, and Sony has yet to comment on the patent. All we know for sure is playing an upscale version of Shadow of the Colossus sounds magnificent.

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Ever wanted Papa Smurf to stick his hand out towards the screen while it appears like it’s actually coming through? No? Well you’re getting it anyway.

December 17th, 2010 to be exact, Columbia Pictures will release a 3-D Smurfs movie. Directed by Colin Brady, who was the visual effects artist for Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events, it’s said to “be a hybrid of live-action and CGI.” John Lithgow and Julia Sweeney are already rumored to be involved as well.

You’re next Snorks.

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Word through the grapevine is that there may be a Goonies sequel in the works. Assumedly you’re saying “Drats, how dare you?!” But this possibly could be a good thing.

Chris Columbus, who wrote the original script, is saying that director Richard Donner is potentially getting the cast together. Columbus has been directing Joe Pantoliano, an original Goonies member, in Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief. Columbus had this to say: “[Pantoliano] said that Richard Donner talked to him about six months ago about the sequel. I think the only way it could be done is if the kids are now the parents, and their kids have become the Goonies. I still think the two brothers are still alive and well, so they could still be in the movie. So it’s a matter of whether or not they could re-create… … Goonies Sequel a Possibility

The Morning After Girls is a shoegaze-rock-sometimes-electronic band from Melbourne, Australia. They’re getting amazing reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone, NME, and Kerrang! to name only a few; and they haven’t even released their album, The General Public, yet. We recently got the opportunity to talk with frontman Martin B. Sleeman and it was just in the nick of time, because they’re about to be huge.

To begin, super producer Alan Moulder (Depeche Mode, Jesus and the Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Smashing Pumpkins, Nine Inch Nails, Blonde Redhead, etc.) mixed your upcoming album alone. How did you get him and what did he bring to the table for the record?
We were also fortunate to have our friend Robbie Rowlands mix on the album too. Our former manager, David Weisz, contacted Alan after we expressed a very strong desire to work with him on… … Insulinfunk Interview with The Morning After Girls

Dinosaur Jr. is basically an institution in indie rock. If you’ve never heard them, they’re Weezer with balls. Nine albums deep in their impressive catalog, the group recently released Farm on Jagjaguwar. This week’s installment of the ABC’s World News “New Music Monday” segment features that record, albeit to a dismal review.

Watch the video, after clicking on the headline of course, but judge for yourself. You’re a human, not a cyborg. Are you a cyborg? One should never jump to conclusions. See! We won’t jump to conclusions about you being a cyborg, if you don’t jump to conclusions about the new Dinosaur Jr. record based on one person’s opinion. Because it’s pretty awesome.

In true Marvel fashion, the upcoming Amazing Spider-Man #600 will have multiple variant covers. While it’s true that variants have become passé in these modern times, the fact that the publisher managed to snag the legendary John Romita Sr. to contribute is quite impressive.

The image to your left is a portion of Romita Sr.’s variant; you may see a large version of the image after the jump. All versions of the issue will be on sale July 22.

Continue reading Marvel Reveals Romita Sr. Spider-Man #600 Variant