Politics IS a joke With apologies to Saturday Night Live, Key and Peele has been the best sketch comedy show on television since its 2012 debut. On Saturday night at the annual White House Correspondent’s Dinner, one of the show’s best recurring characters received the presidential seal of approval. President Obama brought out Keegan-Michael Key to play Luther, the typically mild-mannered Obama’s anger translator. If you’re not familiar with the sketch (or Jordan Peele’s excellent Obama impression), you should really check them out. Needless to say, the bit killed and was the highlight of the evening. As Peele put it to Key on Twitter, “I knew it was only a matter of time before I was replaced by someone with a better impression.”
Cobain Covers If you didn’t see the new documentary Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck at SIFF Cinema Egyptian, you still have until Thursday to catch this special one-week theatrical engagement (the film comes out on HBO on May 4). When making the film, one of the gems that director Brett Morgen found when sorting through Cobain’s archival relics was an unreleased self-recording the late musician did of the Beatles’ song “And I Love Her.” It’s haunting and beautiful both in the film or simply listened to sans context.
Something Actually Super The 2013 film Man of Steel offered the best cinematic rendition of Superman in decades (though that’s more a comment on the abomination that was Superman Returns), but it was still rather dull and drab. Director Zach Snider took a page from Christopher Nolan’s Batman series (and perhaps the upsetting lack of palette in modern war-based video games) and sucked all the color out of Man of Steel. The folks at VideoLab took it upon themselves to try and digital restore the original colors, and the results are rather stunning. Hard to imagine any comic book fans wouldn’t prefer a Superman movie packed with this bright liveliness to the bleak grayness they got.
COMEDIC SPORTS COMMENTARY Chris Rock is a black baseball fan. That’s become a rare thing. As part of an upcoming segment for HBO’s Real Sports, Rock breaks down the reasons why blacks have abandoned the sport in a way that’s both honest and funny. (Would you expect any less from him?) That said nobody—regardless of race—should waste their time watching the pathetic baseball the Mariners are currently playing.*
*Games King Félix pitches excepted.
LISTEN and WATCH Apparently pro wrestling has become hip in the indie songwriter scene. Earlier this month, the Mountain Goats released Beat the Champ, a superb album of songs entirely devoted to the squared circle, and last week Iron and Wine unveiled a new wrestling-themed music video for “Everyone’s Summer of ’95.” The clip follows a man who decides to jump into the ring at a low-level promotion, while Sam Beam sings the track from Iron and Wine’s recently released rarities album Archive Series Volume No. 1. Remember to take of your luchador mask before hitting play for the maximum listening experience.
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