Oil and Water

Syriana, Michael "Brownie" Brown, and more media picks

November 22, 2005

MOVIES: George Clooney continues his transformation into a lefty John Wayne. While the Duke meant The Green Berets to bolster support for the war in Vietnam, Syriana will likely do the opposite for our current entanglement. Stephen Gaghan's dense, politically charged, globe-spanning thriller is unlike anything Clooney's ever done, and not just because he gained 35 pounds for the role. It debuts tomorrow in NY and L.A., and hits the red states Dec. 9.

DVD: Those sick of phony-looking love scenes will be happy to learn that Michael Winterbottom's actual-sextravaganza 9 Songs is out on DVD. Finally, a reason for that "zoom" button.

BOOKS: If Peter Biskind's Easy Riders, Raging Bulls didn't satisfy your seventies-cinema jones, check out blogger Ron Hogan's new coffee table book, The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane!: American Films of the 1970s. It's stacked with photos from the last golden age, plus the requisite Peter Bogdanovich interview.

GAMES: He's already rich, but he's still tryin'.... 50 Cent's latest product spin-off, the video game 50 Cent: Bulletproof, drops today for Xbox and PS2.

MUSIC: The Darkness descends with a Queen-y sophomore album, One Way Ticket to Hell…and Back, while Seu Jorge's The Life Aquatic Studio Sessions reminds us what we liked about the film—namely him covering Bowie in Portuguese. Also of note: Death Row reissues Dr. Dre's The Chronic, Snoop's Doggystyle, and 2Pac's All Eyez on Me.

TV: What ever happened to inept former FEMA head Michael "Brownie" Brown? It's a question on absolutely no one's lips. Yet he'll be on PBS's Frontline tonight in his first interview since emailing a press aide, "Can I quit now? Can I come home?"