His reputation as an actor appears to be burdened by the roles he chooses, but he will generally be the best thing on the screen, even making middle of the road vehicles like “The Lincoln Lawyer” or “We Are Marshall”  modest box office successes.

McConaughey first made his mark with a small but highly memorable performance in Richard Linkletter’s cult hit,”Dazed and Confused”. It’s a Texas high school saga of the mid- 70′s. He plays the kinda- sleazy older guy who still has an appetite for the high school gals. His character proved more iconic amidst other young stars in the cast, yet to be discovered. Ben Affleck, Milla Jovovich, Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg to name a few.

McConaughey seems to appreciate and understand the appeal of his politically incorrect character and seems quite amused by the opportunity to reprise the role 20 years later in this music video by Butch Walker and the Black Widows.  The song is “Synthesizers” and we think you’re going to enjoy this….

Lost in Tokyo from Mark Bramley on Vimeo.

This performance may very well be the best in the show’s 9 year history. Enjoy Mr. Jacob Lusk singing Marvin Gaye’s “You’re All I Need To Get By.”

It’s an “enthusiasm” that the 58 year-old star brings to everything he does from film roles to personal appearances. No matter how small or quirky that role may be, it tends to be memorable.  His heavy-lidded eyes open widely with a sense of amazement and good humor. His sharp, handsome features give way to a positively nerdy manner of speaking,  at times feeling ill-timed or trapped in deeper thought than originally anticipated. His demeanor is as unique as Walken or Busey,  identified by both the manner of speech and erratic train of thought.  He’s an easy mark for impersonation.

Many fell under the spell of Goldblum 1983′s “The Big Chill” (in which he plays a reporter for a  People-type magazine).   He will forever be our generation’s Fly, in David Cronenberg’s grisly classic. In the mid-1990s he found himself in three of the biggest box-office hits of all time – Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Lost World – and was turning into a major leading man.  He then disappeared into a long line of independent films and a pair of quirky Prime Time television detectives. (He just recently stepped away from, ” Law & Order: Criminal Intent”,  before the show’s last season).

Another aspect of Goldblum’s entertainment value comes from his love of late night talk shows. He loves to unfold those long legs in the guest chair and banter with them all. His answers often a cavalcade weird stories and oddly chosen metaphors said with an almost reptilian sense of timing . He’s been on Conan, Dave, Jay and now a big favorite on Jimmy Fallon’s late night NBC show, “Late Night With Jimmy Fallon”.

Goldblum took to tickling the ivorys in what was supposed to feel like an impromptu jam session.

Maybe not so impromptu, as a piano and rapper Biz Markie were conveniently on hand to cover Biz’s huge hit, “Just a Friend”.

They built their reputation on creative, original music packaged and marketed with innovation, but also a very independent spirit.  They eventually opened up to music outside Denmark, collaborating with other independent labels.

The videos for some of  Fake Diamond’s artists are indicative of the labels willingness to think outside the box. Complicated Universal Cum is a Danish band under the “Fake Diamond” label.  The band describes their type of music as “Psychedelic / Techno / Blues”.

This is a music video to their latest song, called “I can hardly wait”.  It seems to be pretty popular.

Selling the entertainment industry as well as the general public seems like territory not mined this well since the days of Andy Kaufman who could often stun close friends and family with his crazy wrestling and lounge lizard incarnations.

Phoenix grew a Taliban-quality beard and dressed shabbily. His interviews (most notable a barely coherent interview with David Letterman in 2008) sold everyone who saw them that “Hip-Hop” or not, the young actor had probably lost his mind.  It wasn’t unreasonable to believe the actor wasn’t serious, given his disappearance from the screen over time.

The documentary filmed by long time actor friend, Casey Affleck, has many scenes that are uncomfortable to watch. At one point in the film it appears as if Phoenix is having a nervous breakdown.  All staged. All filmed over and over until it was right. So effective has been this hoax that one has to wonder what possible professional fallout may come.

Though some participants were never made aware that a scam was going on…(apparently Letterman was clueless), every single frame of the film was fake. An early clip of what is said to be Joaquin as a child is also a fake.

“I’m Still Here” opened in New York two  weeks ago and will begin expanding into further markets.

One can only hope that now that the cat is out of the bag, that Phoenix is coming back to acting.  Crazy as he has to be to immerse himself into a character for two years,  but the guy is a talent.

A sad day in the Hip-Hop universe as Hollywood reclaims one of it’s own.

Broadway performer Lin-Manuel Miranda wanted to surprise his bride Vanessa with something special at the reception. With the help of some of his theater friends, everyone in the wedding party and then some were able to put together a lovely musical tribute.  Remember, there’s only one professional performer here….the rest are just giving it their all.

Enjoy…

Apparently Mr. West has recently discovered Twitter and is prolific in sharing his never ending flow of wisdom, social commentary and unfettered stream of consciousness.  So random and odd are some of his “tweets” that he’s quickly become a widely followed scribe.

On their own, the “self-absorbed one” puts out  entertaining bits of fluff…but paired as a caption to a random New Yorker cartoon, the result is gold. Kanye gold.

Click on the cartoon for more.