Three college buddies reunite for one last hurrah of a road trip to mend a grown-apart friendship while escaping the lives they never thought they would end up having. Sound familiar? Well, this film is just about as paint by the numbers as you can get, while completely missing the B-movie charm its title tries to indicate.
Stuck in Boston over Thanksgiving break in 2008, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) students Kayvan Zainabadi and Shahriar Khushrushahi were frustrated when the empty city did not satisfy their need to party. The frequent clubgoers were disappointed when the clubs they tried out were not to their satisfaction. It was then they had the idea to create a website that would allow clubgoers to check and receive up to date information about certain clubs, depending on the night. After more than a year of preparation and designing, Zainabadi and Khushrushahi created Instantnightlife.com.
If you’ve never heard of Gil Scott-Heron, it’s time you did.
Scott-Heron is a spoken word soul performer famous in the late 1960s and early ’70s. His hits included “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a spoken word piece, and “The Bottle,” which is classic funk. He was also well-known for his collaboration with flutist and keyboardist Brian Jackson.
He’s had a spotty career since then, with occasional recordings and performances, but he’s far from peak he reached a few decades ago.
As the lights go down in the nightclub and the first chords of an opening act fill the air, it’s normal for emotions and energy to be high.
But at the upcoming Maia McDermott Memorial show at the Middle East Downstairs, there will be an extra element emotion in that air. Local acts will take to the stage Sunday for a night of performances dedicated to Maia McDermott, a Massachusetts college student who was killed in a car accident in February.
[caption id="attachment_600" align="alignleft" width="250" caption="Professor Brad Hatfield"][/caption]
Northeastern students interested in a career in film will be excited to know that someone with a vast, diverse career in the field spends much of his time lecturing at Northeastern. Brad Hatfield is an Emmy Award-winning musician who lives in Westwood and has taught part-time at Northeastern since 2008.
Like many other professional musicians, Hatfield has made a career out of having his pieces selected for use in film soundtracks. Hatfield’s filmography spans dozens of films over the past 20 years. “Dear John,” starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum, is just the latest to feature his work, a piece titled “Ballroom Ballad.”
We don’t have to tell you Twitter is a pretty big deal. There’s no avoiding it, even if you don’t have an account. True, some find it annoying, but for some it’s a boredom killer, and for others it’s an obsession. If you’re one of the former, maybe this will persaude you otherwise; and if you fall into the latter two categories, here are some people you should be following. Honorable mentions go to @shitmydadsays, @commonsquirrel, @ConanOBrien and @donttrythis. Of course, the shameless plug goes to @HuntNewsNU.
Event of the Week - Unearthing films at Boston fest: It sure isn’t Hollywood, but there are plenty of cinematic happenings afoot in Boston if you know where to look. This week, the place to look is “underground” – at the Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF), that is. According to the website, BUFF is “a celebration of the bizarre and insane,” made up of “uncompromising, unflinching film and video” and – in general – “hazardous to your health.” Included among the area premieres is “American Grindhouse” (pictured).
Remember, back in the day, when a kiss was a big deal? When it wasn’t just an act of pity or sloppy drunkenness, but a mutual acknowledgment of feelings for each other? Somehow, everything in the dating arena got so complicated in the transition from child to adult.
It's another St. Patrick's Day in Boston and everyone's got party plans. Believe it or not, there's plenty of stuff to do that's not in a basement on Mission Hill. Yes, parties are fun, but if you want to get out and off campus, here are some suggestions.
The Gorillaz kicked off their new album, Plastic Beach, with a trailer featuring a risky car chase, a gun-wielding Bruce Willis, and their new single “Stylo.” Plastic Beach, the Gorillaz's third album, was released on March 8 and is already number one on iTunes’ Top Albums chart.
There is something about folksy, pining Scotsmen with masculinity issues and a penchant for sexual analysis that just does it for all y’all indie kids. How could you hate those pensive guitars? That endearing sense of self-deprecation? Reflexivity that would put Dashboard to shame? It’s a package that would make any romantic masochist swoon.
Event of the Week: “A Small Act” with a big result: Would a heartwarming tale of success and charity help perk things up during the mid–semester stretch? Here’s one for the ages: A Swedish woman named Hilde Back contributes a small amount of money to provide for the schooling of a young Kenyan student, Chris Mburu. She doesn’t think much of it at the time, but he goes on to attend Harvard and become a United Nations human rights lawyer, establishing a charity in her name to educate more third–world students. “A Small Act,” a documentary about the unlikely true story, will screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and Mburu will be present to speak about his life. 290 Harvard St., Brookline.; 7 p.m.; $15, $12 for students; 617–734–2500.
Event of the Week - Unearthing films at Boston fest: It sure isn’t Hollywood, but there are plenty of cinematic happenings afoot in Boston if you know where to look. This week, the place to look is “underground” – at the Boston Underground Film Festival (BUFF), that is. According to the website, BUFF is “a celebration of the bizarre and insane,” made up of “uncompromising, unflinching film and video” and – in general – “hazardous to your health.” Included among the area premieres is “American Grindhouse” (pictured). 
Remember, back in the day, when a kiss was a big deal? When it wasn’t just an act of pity or sloppy drunkenness, but a mutual acknowledgment of feelings for each other? Somehow, everything in the dating arena got so complicated in the transition from child to adult. 
Event of the Week: “A Small Act” with a big result: Would a heartwarming tale of success and charity help perk things up during the mid–semester stretch? Here’s one for the ages: A Swedish woman named Hilde Back contributes a small amount of money to provide for the schooling of a young Kenyan student, Chris Mburu. She doesn’t think much of it at the time, but he goes on to attend Harvard and become a United Nations human rights lawyer, establishing a charity in her name to educate more third–world students. “A Small Act,” a documentary about the unlikely true story, will screen at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, and Mburu will be present to speak about his life. 290 Harvard St., Brookline.; 7 p.m.; $15, $12 for students; 617–734–2500. 
