Bloglander

Nearly a year after it hit local theater screens, the Spokane-made, nerd culture comedy/horror Knights of Badassdom is now available to stream on Netflix Instant.

While the film has been available on other video-on-demand platforms for some time at a fee, Netflix subscribers can now watch the fantastical LARP-ing adventures of its all-star cast of characters — played by Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), Steve Zahn (Treme), Ryan Kwanten (True Blood), Danny Pudi (Community) and Summer Glau (Firefly) — as part of their subscription package. 

Knights was shot in and around Spokane by the local production studio North by Northwest back in summer 2010, and before major, breakthrough roles for some of the aforementioned actors. Due to delays in production and distribution, the film wasn't publicly released until January 2014.

Speaking of other locally filmed sci-fi adventures, Z Nation is set to release on Netflix Instant this Friday, Jan. 9. Looks like we all have some weekend binge-watching to look forward to. 

Every week we delve into the (mostly) steaming pile of new music and home video releases to help readers spend their money on the most worthy of entertainment options. It's a new year, we have the same job. Let's do this. 

MUSIC
The music biz is still coasting on holiday sales of Pentatonix and taking a break from releasing anything of note this week. Instead, here are some of the albums I'm most anticipating in the first few months of 2015: 
The Decemberists, What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World (Jan. 20). It's been four years since the strong The King is Dead album from the Portland folk-rockers led by Colin Meloy. 
Sleater-Kinney, No Cities to Love (Jan. 20). Nine years after Sleater-Kinney released The Woods and then split up, America's best band (ya heard me!) is back with one of the most anticipated albums and tours of the year — and the tour starts right here in Spokane on Feb. 8 with a sold-out show at the Knitting Factory. 
Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear (Feb. 10). His 2012 debut, Fear Fun, was excellent. Here's hoping the concept album he's releasing for his sophomore effort holds up as well. 
Modest Mouse, Stranger to Ourselves (March 3). It's been eight years since Issaquah's finest put out an album. That's way too long for a band that always has something interesting going thanks to leader Isaac Brock. 
Faith No More, title tba (April). Younger readers probably won't know or care about the Bay Area experimental rockers — it's been 18 years since their last release! — but Mike Patton has one of the best voices in rock. 
My Morning Jacket, title tba (April). Speaking of great voices, MMJ's Jim James has one, too, and the band has reportedly recorded enough songs for two full-length releases. Huzzah!

MOVIES & TV
This week's video releases include some of the worst movies of 2014 — hello, Left Behind remake starring Nicolas Cage — but some of the Oscar favorites are out as well. 

Boyhood has topped a slew of year-end "Best Movies of 2014" lists, and is generating serious Oscar buzz for director Richard Linklater, as well as Patricia Arquette. If the near-three-hour running time was too daunting for you to see it in theaters, now's your chance to buy it and watch on your own time. 
Dinosaur 13 is a remarkable documentary about the discovery of the T-rex named Sue (you might have seen a cast replica of her at the Mobius recently), and the battle for control of her fossil. Here's a look: 
Get On Up got a frustratingly short release in theaters, so a chance to see the James Brown bio-pic is a welcome one. It stars Chadwick Boseman, hot on the heels of his strong Jackie Robinson portrayal in 47. 

Each Tuesday we clue you in on the best new music and home video releases, and even though we're two days from 2015 and the music biz has basically shut down for the moment, there are a couple of vids potentially worth your time on New Year's Eve or for viewing during a break in New Year's Day football. Check 'em out: 

MOVIES & TV

Even though he doesn't crank out the flicks at the same pace as in his earlier days, Denzel Washington remains one bad man, and capable of starring in an action flick like The Equalizer, the big-screen adaptation of a much-beloved '80s TV series. Antoine Fuqua, who teamed with Washington for Training Day, directs this one, too, although it wasn't as well-received as that Oscar-winner. Here's a look: 
Tusk is director Kevin Smith's latest effort, and stars Justin Long as a podcaster who is captured, enslaved and experimented on by a wily old coot with a thing for walruses. Or something like that. Check the trailer: 

Even during the week of Christmas the entertainment biz is trying to find its way into your wallet with new music and DVD releases, and we're here to help you separate the good from the bad every Tuesday. 

MUSIC
Not much in the way of new music this week, with one notable exception. You got the funk? Funkadelic is releasing its first new music in 33 years on CD Tuesday (it came out digitally a couple weeks back), and First Ya Gotta Shake the Gate has all the usual suspects you want from a Parliament/Funkadelic release—George Clinton leading the charge, contributions from Sly Stone and a slew of bad mofos. Here's a tune called "Ain't That Funkin' Kind of Hard on You:"


MOVIES & TV
Remarkably, there are two worthy indie flicks newly released this week that you should consider for some holiday viewing. 

The Trip to Italy is the follow-up to The Trip, in which British actors Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon play exaggerated versions of themselves, bouncing through travel hotspots, exploring fine cuisine and lodgings while delivering their best Michael Caine impressions (among others). The original took them through their native Britain, while the follow-up leads them to, yes, Italy for visits to Pompeii and Sicily. 
Pride stars some seriously great actors (Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Paddy Considine) in a true story about a group of gay and lesbian activists who join forces with some rough-and-tumble striking miners in mid-80s England. Pride was nominated for a Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) Golden Globe. 

How about some more uplifting movie news, rather than read more about this confounding display of cowardice? 

And that good news is that tonight we're hosting a screening of Elf, a movie starring Will Ferrell as a man-sized elf who says nothing inflammatory about any dictator, foreign or otherwise. It's a totally safe movie and good for the whole family!

The screening benefits Catholic Charities Spokane and also features raffle prizes, a photo booth and a special appearance by Buddy the Elf! The party film is tonight at the Bing Crosby Theater at 7 pm. Doors open at 5:30 pm.

For the $5 entry, you'll also be treated to scenes like this, when Buddy the Elf gets super pumped about meeting Santa:
Or when Buddy the Elf finds the world's best cup of coffee.Or when Buddy the Elf says "Son of a Nutcracker!"
Or when Buddy the Elf unleashes an earth-rattling burp.

As the 2015 Washington state legislative session approaches, convening in Olympia on Jan. 12, interest groups all around are getting ready to make their cases for increased or maintained state funding. One of those is Washington Filmworks, the nonprofit tasked with managing the state's film production incentive program.

At an annual industry update last week at Nectar Tasting Room in downtown Spokane, Washington Filmworks' Director Amy Lillard, and Board of Directors Chair Don Jensen, shared successes of the year, and the organization's goals for the upcoming session.

Throughout this year, Washington Filmworks provided funding assistance for 13 TV episode (Z Nation), seven commercials, three projects at its Innovation Lab and one feature film (Captain Fantastic). That funding assistance was split roughly in half between projects in Eastern (51 percent) and Western Washington (49 percent).

Combined, projects in 2014 resulted in an estimated $33 million in economic impact for the state. 

However, Lillard pointed out that even with those notable successes, Washington Filmworks was forced to turn away five big projects that would have generated an additional $55 million into the state economy. That's because Washington Filmworks' annual $3.5 million film industry incentive cap was spent by May.

Washington's film incentive program works like a cash rebate for qualifying productions made in-state. Funded by a portion of the state's business and occupation tax liabilities (corporations/individuals can choose to contribute to this fund, getting a dollar for dollar tax credit, up to $1 million), qualifying productions can apply to get 30 percent of what they spent here back from the state. 

Washington's program to encourage filmmakers to work here is the fifth smallest in the nation, but interest in making films here is growing, Lillard told the group of about three dozen at the presentation last Thursday.

"We spent the summer looking to what we can do during the [legislative] session because it's hard to come up with the money," Lillard says. 

While Washington Filmworks plans to ask state lawmakers to increase its incentive budget, Lillard says no official request has been determined at this point. However, if the state were able to take advantage of all the projects interested in shooting here, an estimated $24.3 million in funding assistance would be needed. 

Anticipating the challenges ahead of legislators as they work to balance the 2015-17 biennium budget during the 2015 session, it's going to be a tough battle for everyone. The biggest priorities on the table are education, mental health services and the voter-approved class size reduction initiative.    

Still, Lillard and Jensen urged attendees last week to reach out to their legislators, and to ask them to fight for increased funding for the film incentives.  

"We know it's made a difference in employment," she adds. "We're committed to being transparent, and $24.3 million — is that feasible? I don't know."

You might be tempted to buy your friends or loved ones some new music or videos just in time for the holidays. Before you do, let us help you separate the worthy from the waste of money with our Tuesday Taste. 

MUSIC

D'Angelo and the Vanguard, Black Messiah. With a gap between albums that would make Axl Rose blush, D'Angelo is finally back on the scene with new music, and people are pretty excited about it. At one point — around 1995 when his debut Voodoo took the world by storm — he was considered the baddest man in R&B and neo-soul. Will people still care about him in 2014? They probably should, judging by the sound of this one called "Really Love." I recommend you skip the first 1:30 of intro to get to the goods: 

The Kinks, The Anthology 1964-1971. The Brit-pop pioneers are criminally under-appreciated, and this five-disc set of their early years is a great introduction to a band who should be held in the same esteem of the Beatles, the Stones and the Who. They wrote "You Really Got Me," dammit! And this great tune: 

Charli XCX, Sucker.  The British star's sophomore album brings a bit of rock riffage to the mix that matches well with her snotty attitude, a nice contrast to the princess-like propriety of Ms. Swift's brand of pop. If you're looking for something for a young pop music fan, this can work: 

MOVIES & TV

The mainstream releases that will garner most of the attention of less-discerning film fans this week include the latest Woody Allen flick, Magic in the Moonlight, which got raked over pretty good by critics for its hard to believe chemistry (or lack thereof) between the 54-year-old Colin Firth and 26-year-old Emma Stone. Bad Woody can be very bad. The Maze Runner is another wannabe dystopian-future teen flick, so if you haven't had your fill of those yet, go to town. And, of course, there's the reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles out on vid today, but the less said about that, the better. 

If you're looking for something with a bit more to offer, though, consider these flicks: 

The Skeleton Twins features long-time Saturday Night Live co-stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, but this story of estranged twins forced into a reunion offers more drama than you might expect, along with some laughs. You might never look at Hader as merely "Stefon" anymore. Here's the trailer: 

This Is Where I Leave You is a slam-dunk on paper. Based on a best-selling novel by Jonathan Tropper, it stars an unbelievable cast including Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Jane Fonda and Adam Driver. The actual film isn't all that it could have been, often leaving its cast with too little to do, but there are moments when it lives up to its potential — particularly when Driver is on screen. Here's a look: 

In case you missed it, the nominees for the 2015 Golden Globes awards were announced today, and we're not going to let the opportunity go by to comment on the generally meaningless, highly questionable "honors." The only guarantee for people tuning in to the awards on Jan. 11 is that co-hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler will be awesome once again. That, and that the voters of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association will serve up enough booze to make for some memorable award speeches.

Some film fans consider the Golden Globes a decent predictor of the Oscars, but the same film has won Best Picture honors only four of the past 10 years. Granted, the past three years have aligned nicely, but this year's race seems wide open. While some with weaker constitutions will wait to make their Golden Globe predictions in the days leading up to the telecast, we here at the Inlander are made of sterner stuff. We're not only going to make predications based on our first look at the nominees — we're going to make them having seen few of the films. We're working without a net here, people!

We'll check back in January to see how we did — feel free to play along. Let's do it. 

BEST MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The nominees: Boyhood, Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything
Prediction: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves to remind Americans of our racist history, so Selma is the pick over Steve Carell's fake nose, Stephen Hawking's love story, Boyhood's near-three-hour running time, and the man I'll simply refer to as Cumberbatch! 

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The nominees: Julianne Moore (Still Alice), Reese Witherspoon (Wild), Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl), Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Jennifer Aniston (Cake)
Prediction: The Globes love glamorous stars who get a little grungy for a role. I don't know how much they liked Friends. Let's go with Witherspoon for her makeup-free job in Wild. 

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, DRAMA
The nominees: Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything), Cumberbatch! (The Imitation Game), Steve Carell (Foxcatcher), David Oyelowo (Selma), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler)
Prediction: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association loves to remind Americans of our homophobic past, so it could be Cumberbatch! But the members also love stories of people overcoming addiction and/or physical challenges. Hello, Stephen Hawking! I'm going with Redmayne. 

BEST MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
The nominees: Birdman, Into the Woods, The Grand Budapest Hotel, St. Vincent, Pride
Prediction: Globe voters might recognize Wes Anderson's Budapest since they know the Oscars never will, but Birdman seems like the sound choice. 

BEST ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
The nominees: Amy Adams (Big Eyes), Julianne Moore (Maps to the Stars), Emily Blunt (Into the Woods), Helen Mirren (The Hundred Foot Journey), Quvenzhane Wallis (Annie)
Prediction: Helen Mirren is English and gives a great awards speech. Emily Blunt is English and is in a movie with Meryl Streep. Tough call. Going with Mirren. 

BEST ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE, MUSICAL OR COMEDY
The nominees: Michael Keaton (Birdman), Bill Murray (St. Vincent), Ralph Fiennes (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Joaquin Phoenix (Inherent Vice), Christoph Waltz (Big Eyes)
Prediction: Whoa, talk about a powerhouse slate of nominees, damn! It could be a lifetime achievement award thing for Keaton, but I'm betting the Golden Globes would love to have Bill Murray give a speech on live TV. 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The nominees: The Lego Movie, Big Hero 6, How to Train Your Dragon 2, The Boxtrolls, The Book of Life
Prediction: Do Legos transcend the global toy market? I have no idea, but I'm predicting The Lego Movie will win. 

BEST DIRECTOR
The nominees: Richard Linklater (Boyhood), Alejandro Inarritu (Birdman), Ava DuVernay (Selma), Wes Anderson (The Grand Budapest Hotel), David Fincher (Gone Girl)
Prediction: An African-American woman making a movie about America's racist history? Make way for Ava DuVernay's walk to the podium! Especially because it would take Linklater hours to get there if he wins. 

BEST SCREENPLAY
The nominees: Birdman, Boyhood, Gone Girl, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game
Prediction: The Globes will find some way to reward Linklater for the remarkable task of filming a flick over a dozen years. He'll take this one.  

Let us know what you think of today's nominations. Who got the shaft? Who got an undeserved nod? Why should we have predicted the TV Golden Globes nominations? Stay tuned for either our victory lap or crow-eating session come Jan. 12. 

There's this thing called Suds and Cinema that we do here at the Inlander. If you don't know about it, this should bring you up to speed. But briefly put, we bring a movie — typically one you've seen or your friends have been telling you to see for years — and then add a local brewery to the mix, making for a night of beer and laughs that has become a force unto itself in its brief year-and-a-half existence.

Coming off a schwing-tastic screening of Wayne's World, we thought we'd let you guys pick the film for the January 21 edition of the series. Here are five finalists the Suds and Cinema Brain Trust has presented for your choosing.

You have until next Wednesday (12/17) to get your votes in and we'll announce the winner shortly thereafter.

If you'd like to lobby for your film of choice, please do some in the comment section. We welcome informed debate, but please don't ask us to show Porky's. It's not gonna happen.

Every week the entertainment biz drops a batch of new music and videos on the masses, and every week we help you decide what's worth your time, and what's best left behind. Let's do this. 

MUSIC

The Smashing Pumpkins, Monuments to an Elegy. With Billy Corgan the only remaining original member, we continue to learn that he was really the only Pumpkin that ever mattered. Monuments sounds exactly like what you'd expect a new Smashing Pumpkins album to sound like — old Smashing Pumpkins, but not as good. Still, if you love the band, this nine-song set makes for a decent addition. You can hear new tune "Tiberius" right here: 

Cracker, Berkeley to Bakersfield. It's a double album that collects the original Cracker lineup for the first time in 20 years on the Berkeley half (the rock half), while delving into the rootsy country and Americana that founders David Lowery and Johnny Hickman have dabbled in through the years on the Bakersfield disc. Here's a live vid a fan shot of "King of Bakersfield:"

Ghostface Killah, 36 Seasons. As a member of the Wu-Tang, he deserves some blame for their middling recent release. As a solo artist, Ghostface Killah remains a remarkably consistent hip-hop force, and this one proves that point yet again. Here's a tune called "The Battlefield:"

MOVIES & TV

Obviously the biggest DVD release of the week is Guardians of the Galaxy, the winning sci-fi comedy that raked in serious coin this year while successfully straddling the line between action and slapstick. Even the soundtrack turned some young people who aren't old enough to know better into fans of garbage '70s soft rock hits. Chances are you've already seen that one, so perhaps you should give some of these smaller new releases a try: 

Calvary stars the brilliant Brendan Gleeson (The Guard) as a good priest in a small Irish town — but not good enough to keep one of his parishioners from threatening to kill him during a visit to the confession booth. It's more dark than comedy, but watching Gleeson do his thing is a treat — he just won a British Independent Film Award for this role. Here's a look: 

Frank was a Sundance hit, and it's inspired by a hard-to-believe true story of musician/comedian Chris Sievey, who created a character named Frank Sidebottom to lead a band with an unpronounceable name. The schtick, both in real life and the movie, is that Frank (played by Michael Fassbender) walks around his everyday life and performs wearing a large papier-mâché head. Take a look: