Took long enough! After a whole lotta hype, much of it truly genuine thanks to a leaked galley, this season's hottest not-really-for-children children's book, Go The Fuck To Sleep, officially came out yesterday. And with its publication come some ringing celebrity endorsements. No less than Samuel L. Jackson, hater of motherfucking snakes on motherfucking planes, has recorded a free audiobook version of Adam Mansbach and Ricardo Cortés instant classic. And it gets better.
Videos: Samuel L. Jackson, Judah Friedlander Read "Go The F*ck To Sleep"
Instant Entertainment: Werner Herzog Edition
Welcome back to our Instant Entertainment weekly feature, in which we offer you two bits of entertainment currently available on demand on Netflix Instant Watch, Hulu and/or Amazon Prime. Watched something online recently you think we should highlight? Send us a note at tips@gothamist.com.
Weekend Movie Forecast: Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans or Broken Embraces
Click on the images above for more details and reviews on this week's new releases and repertory screenings, which include Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans, Broken Embraces, Fix, The Blind Side, Missing Person, Mammoth, Planet 51, Staten Island, Defamation, New Moon, Psycho, Jabberwocky, Red Cliff, and Rene'.
Werner Herzog, Director
(Photo © Robin Holland) Born in Munich in 1942, Werner Herzog grew up in a remote mountain village in Bavaria, where he never saw any films, television, or telephones until he was 17. The effects of this isolated childhood can be seen in many of his films, which often focus on the struggles of independent dreamers who deliberately square off against impossible circumstances. Herzog has directed more than 40 films over the course of his career, and although the subject matter varies wildly, one always senses Herzog's uncompromising persona embedded in each one like a watermark. His latest documentary, the transporting Encounters at the End of the World, is no exception. Shot at various locations throughout Antarctica, the film finds Herzog very much in his element: the extreme, inhospitable and almost otherworldly sun-drenched South Pole.
Weekend Movie Forecast: The Hulk, The Happening, the End of the World
Hoping to reverse the curse of Ang Lee’s The Hulk, director Louis Leterrier and Edward Norton have teamed up to unleash The Incredible Hulk upon the masses. Their take on the franchise keeps the origin story brief and cuts to the chase, as the Army tries to neutralize their experiment run amok. A.O. Scott at the Times writes, “Let’s not get carried away: The Adequate Hulk would have been a more suitable title... If you really need a superhero to tide you over until Hellboy and Batman resurface next month – and honestly, do you? really? why? – I guess this big green dude will do.”
The Cinecultist's Weekly Repertory Pick: Impossible Dreams Edition
is the project that really encouraged his brilliant madness. It's one of the greatest potential disaster stories in film making and it won Herzog a best director prize at Cannes.
The Cinecultist's Weekly Repertory Pick: Eastern Experience Edition
July 19 - 28, Asia Society
Elsewhere in the ist-a-verse
What with Paris Hilton's release earlier this week and the upcoming celebration of American Independence (sorry, Londonist!), we've been thinking a lot about freedom. Freedom to vote, freedom to choose, and most importantly, freedom to blog. Here are a few things we're happy we've been free to blog about this week.
Pencil This In
MOVIE: By now you've probably seen Grizzly Man. The Werner Herzog directed documentary depicts one (slightly off kilter) man's relationship with nature. Over the course of 13 summers, Timothy Treadwell lived amongst the animals - most notably the bears, in the Alaskan wild. You know this doesn't end well.
Super Cold, Super Windy
As we mentioned on Friday, Staten Island Chuck's forecast skills aren't the best. Instead of an early spring, today and tomorrow will be the coldest days yet this winter. An arctic front passed through the city around three o'clock this morning, bringing with it bone chilling cold, dry air and high winds.
Movie Picks: Gus Van Sant's Last Days and Herzog's Grizzly Man
Tonight, be sure to catch a sneak peak at this summer’s upcoming movies: MoMA’s Department of Film and Media presents Gus Van Sant’s Last Days, inspired and "loosely" based on Kurt Cobain’s last days before his suicide (with Michael Pitt as the struggling, Seattle-based grungy musician), at 9:00 PM, as well as Van Sant’s Elephant at 7:00 PM. $10

