A horror film and a protest documentary exhibit how not to play by the rules.
Edmund Eugene Mullins
February 19, 2008
Naomi Watts in Funny Games.
Funny Games isn’t funny; it’s horrifying in a way that’s likely to induce frustration, nausea, and a significant percentage of walk-outs. This is just what director Michael Haneke is hoping for.
A provocateur to his fans, a misanthrope to his detractors, Haneke has built his career on this kind of paradox. His films are strategically designed to discomfit and unnerve, each an astringent study in such patently unfunny subjects as bourgeois guilt (Caché, Code Unknown), consumerism (The 7th Continent), and violence in media (Benny’s Video). It’s hard to think of a body of work that’s more serious, or farther away from the Hollywood mold.
READ MORE

1. Leaf blowers.
At first, Air Traffic comes off as a gridlocked intersection of Britpop styles past and present. On the U.K. foursome’s debut album, one might stumble upon the chiming piano of Keane, the jaunty buzz of classic Blur, Arctic Monkeys’ scruffy attitude, or a pretty fair approximation of Chris Martin’s falsetto. Consistent hooks help make up for Fractured Life’s lack of originality, and nervy touches like the heavy glam-rock guitars of “Just Abuse Me” or the thundering girl-group drums underpinning “No More Running Away” suggest this young band might just outgrow its influences yet.
Rachel de Rougemont—aka The Lady Tigra—spent her teen years as a member of the ‘80s Miami rap duo L’Trimm, remembered largely for their bass-blasting 1988 hit “Cars With The Boom.” Now, nearly 17 years since she last released music, Tigra sheds her old-school skin for an indie-hipster makeover. On her debut solo album, she drops sexy robot flows over trendy neo-electro beats that would make any fan of
“Oh, and I particularly like that angry walk of hers that you do,” I say to Chloë Sevigny.
MGMT

