Culture News: This Week's Forecast

July 31 - August 6

Shark Week! We felt that deserved an exclamation. Sunday marked the first day of this yearly event on the Discovery Channel. This year's week is hosted by Chief Shark Officer Andy Samberg, which should bring some comedic relief to an otherwise terrifying week of footage of one of the scariest creatures out there. Oh wait, this is supposed to make us less afraid of sharks?

August 2

We've been waiting for this release since we first saw "A Screaming Man" at the Philadelphia Film Festival late last year. Today, the film finally gets the widest kind of release -- on DVD. The film follows a hotel pool attendant, Adam, who is demoted after his job is given to his son. This begins as the central struggle of the film, but fades into the background as the concerns of civil war come to the fore, and Adam contemplates offering his son up as a volunteer for the war. Adam is both frustrating and sympathetic, making his performance -- which carries the film -- completely devastating.

Beirut's much-anticipated album, The Rip Tide, drops (digitally) on Aug. 2. We've had a couple previews of what's in store for us on "East Harlem" and "Santa Fe," and it's looking considerably poppier. We can take that in small doses, but we're hoping the album has a bit more range than what we've heard so far. The album will be in wide release on Aug. 30.

Beirut - Santa Fe by smithblogsatlanta

August 5

The rise of the monkey movies continues with "Rise of the Planet of the Apes." While nothing can compare to the psychological mindgame the original "Planet of the Apes" delivered, based off the trailer, this take on the series looks to be more promising than expected. Set before the original Charleton Heston film, it follows James Franco's character, Will Rodman, as he genetically modifies apes to find a cure for Alzheimer's. He creates a new kind of ape with human-like intelligence, mad chaos ensues, and you've got yourself a summer blockbuster.

August 5 - August 7

The three-day music festival at Grant Park in Chicago, Lollapalooza, kicks off Friday and runs through the weekend. This year, which marks the 20th anniversary of the festival, boasts a diverse lineup, from Eminem and the Foo Fighters to Muse and Crystal Castles. YouTube will be streaming the event live, which is nice, but isn't being there the whole point of a concert?

Comments

[SouthJerseySteve]

11:58 PM on 08/03/2011

Wouldn't it be funny if James Franco's character is the grandson of Charlton Heston's character?

[Hickspy]

11:22 AM on 08/02/2011

All I want to know from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, is how the apes are going to take over Asia.

Getting into a land war there is one of the classic blunders.

Of course they probably won't, and it'll end with the classic "blowing it all up".

[capitaldysfunction]

01:28 AM on 08/02/2011

HBO ran a half hour show on the making of this movie. A lot of time, money and advanced computer animation went into its creation. I definitely want to see this movie.

[honeyhaulerofwv]

10:03 PM on 08/01/2011

As a fan of Sci-fi, I remember well the early Ape movies... The thought was always there that man had killed himself off the planet and the apes 'evolved'..... The evolutionists loved the thoughts of this and the possibilities it reinforced... NOW, with the pre-quel, we find out that it is only thru the inteligence of humans that the apes were able to gain their superiority.... Im sure the true evolutionists will boycott and deadpan this movie!!!

[onionboy]

05:31 PM on 08/02/2011

Wasn't this the exact same plot as the older movies? Even down to the name of the first super-smart ape, Caesar? I know I saw an Planet of the Apes movie at least 20 years ago where Caesar led a revolution of apes against humans, and it was set in modern times Los Angeles, not after humans had wiped themselves out. I don't know. I thought this was just a remake of that old movie.

[taoistpunk]

01:24 PM on 08/03/2011

"Rise..." remakes "Conquest of..."

the original film was, like the first film, a take on racism and ideas like sub-human races. Caesar, the offspring of far future apes that time travelled back, helps liberate the enlsaved primates who are doing all the work of future human society.

all of the ape movies and the TV series were just coming to tv when i was 7 or 8, and just starting to understand the nature of race relations in our country. so funny now, but powerful stuff when i was a little kid.

"Rise.." looks like just another version of the science out of control, Frankenstein type stories we've been telling over and over since the A-bomb. after the last Apes remake i could easily give this one a miss.

then again, i do have a son who's 9....

[liberalviper]

05:33 PM on 08/01/2011

Planet of the Apes? I didn't know they made a movie about the Tea Party. Oh snap!

[sensimilla]

05:08 PM on 08/01/2011

Wow this looks terrible.

[DonMadrid1500]

03:17 PM on 08/01/2011

Planet of the Apes...boooo

[ZenSufi]

03:48 PM on 08/01/2011

You mean, "booonobo".

[DonMadrid1500]

03:53 PM on 08/01/2011

LOL!

[Bryneen Gary]

10:12 AM on 08/01/2011

ALot of People are in Love with Apes hahaha