Have No Fear

The most anticipated R&B debut release since... dare I say, Beyonce? Saw it at school but waited til I got home to post it. You know what to do. Click that album cover. It's yours.

*Edit: I try not to cuss too much on the blog, but this shit is vicious. That "Live A Lie" beat? Cawt Dayum! I'll be surfing for that instrumental for the next few months.

Harrison Ford

Oscar Pistorius is officially the baddest man in South Africa not named Mandela. Word to the panhandler from KIDS...

A. His nickname is Blade Runner
B. He runs a 46.25s (LaShawn Merritt won gold in Beijing with a 43.75) in the 400 meters with prosthetic blades in "able-bodied competition". Thats Spanish for people with legs.
C. He finished one place short of qualifying for the South African Olympic team this spring
D. His nickname is Blade Runner!

The problem...

A. Pistorius's limbs used 25% less energy than able-bodied runners to run at the same speed, and that leads to less vertical motion combined with 30% less mechanical work for lifting the body.
B. The 'blades' return more energy per stride without ever becoming fatigued or requiring the same investment of energy and they are not subject to metabolite or lactic acid build-up that slows down ordinary athletes
C. The 'blades' he uses are longer than is necessary, allowing him to cover more ground in each stride

Oscar Pistorius completed his gold-medal haul at the Paralympics on Tuesday in Beijing, winning the 400 meters to go with sprint victories in the 100 and 200.

The South African double amputee known as "The Blade Runner" finished in 47.49 seconds, a world record for his disability class in a meet sanctioned by the International Paralympic Committee.

Pistorius, 21, runs on carbon-fiber blades. He was born without a fibula, a bone in the lower leg, and both legs were amputated below the knee when he was 11 months old.

Pistorius' next goal is to qualify for the world championships next year in Berlin, where he would face able-bodied runners. (AP)

Fear The Turtle

For a DB with a combined 5 tackles since the start of the 2007 season... Kevin Barnes is a beast. I'ma need to holla at somebody bout them Terrapins tickets if they keep this up!

Taxation Without Representation, Pt. 4

Its been a long time... I know... but there just wasnt much of nay-than going on in the district worth promoting. Needless to say, if you're gonna be here for the next week and some change its gon be stripes, flags and whistles.


09.17.08
Heineken Red Star Soul w/ Raheem DeVaughn & Chrisette Michele
Hosted by Kenny Burns & Danella
@ Ibiza
1222 1st St NE
Washington, DC 20002

Event Info:
9:00 PM - 1:00 AM
21+
FREE w/ RSVP at dc@fusicology.com


09.18.08
Touch My Soul w/ Jaguar Wright
@ The Republic
1438 U Street NW
Washington, DC 20009

Event Info:
8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
21+
cover: $10 before 9pm (RSVP at info@benyb-ent.com); $20 General Admission


09.20.08
The Puma Archive w/ Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, The Players & DC Heros
Hosted by Grap Luva
@ Puma Store Georgetown
1237 Wisconsin Ave NW
Washington DC

Event Info:
9PM
21+
FREE w/ RSVP at pumarsvp@pookiesgallery.com
Complimentary Drinks


09.20.08
Good Times w/ DJ's Jerome Baker III & StereoFaith
@ Napoleon Bistro & Lounge
1847 Columbia Rd. NW
Washington, DC 20009

Event Info:
Every Saturday 10:00 PM - 3:00 AM
21+
FREE
Sneakers in the Club Alert!


09.21.08
The Coolout w/ DJ's Adrian Loving & Harry Hotter
@ The Beacon Hotel Rooftop
1615 Rhode Island Ave. NW
Corner of 17th and Rhode Island
Washington, DC 20036

Event Info:
Every Sunday 3:00 PM - 9:00 PM
21+
FREE w/ RSVP at thecoolout@avlifestylegroup.com
Complimentary Mojitos from 3-5PM
Sneakers in the Club Alert!


09.21.08
Jill Newman Productions Presents Mos Def
@ Kennedy Center Millennium Stage
2700 F Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Event Info:
7:00 PM - 10:00 PM
All Ages
$20


09.22.08
In the Artist's Studio w/ Phonte x Zo! & Tigallo
@ Busboys and Poets (Langston Room)
2021 14th St NW
Washington, DC 20009

Event Info:
9:00 PM - 1:00 AM
21+
$15 tickets via info@lilsoso.com


09.23.08
R&B LIVE DC w/ Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry
@ Posh
730 11th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Event Info:
8:00 PM - 12:30 AM
21+
FREE w/ 2 Drink Minimum


09.24.08
Red Bull Big Tune w/ Wale & Nottz
Hosted by Vitamin D, J. Moore and DJ DV One
@ 9:30 Club
815 V St. NW
Washington DC

Event Info:
8PM
21+
$5 or FREE with RSVP at redbullbigtune.com



09.24.08
Tru Skool Beat Grinder Championship
Hosted by Grap Luva
@ Liv
2001 11th Street NW
above Bohemian Caverns
Washington, DC 20001

Event Info:
9:00 PM - 2:00 AM
18+
$5 to register to battle at MAJOR (1426 Wisconsin NW) before 9/19
Giveaways all night


09.25.08
MUSICOLOGY
Hosted by Tabi Bonney
@ Station 9 (Upper Level)
1438 U St.
Washington, DC

Event Information:
5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
21+
FREE before 6PM, $10 after
Bring your IPod and submit 5 songs of any genre to musicologyevents@gmail.com to the event playlist


09.25.08
Beatdown 1 Year Anniversary w/ XO, AP & DJ Alizay
Featured Producers include: Best Kept Secret & Judah
@ Felix
2406 18th St NW Washington
Washington, DC 20009

Event Info:
8:00 PM - 1:30 AM
21+
$10

Santana's Town

A win is a win. 29-24. Now let's hope McNabb shuts TO up tomorrow night.

Still Ray

Download

You know you want it. Go ahead, click the album cover. It's yours.

Broad Street Bullies

Hypebeast put up a feature today on the good folks at Ubiq here in Philly. As the big dogs on Walnut, they catch a lotta flack from some people for being snobs. Personally, it's always love whenever I'm there, but I know sneakerheads and hipsterrati are a sensitive bunch, so I'm not gonna demean or belittle those who have that opinion. Then again, some of yall think I'm a snob, so maybe we have that in common.

The Great Debaters

Do yourself a favor. Don't scroll down without watching this.

Down 4 Life

I've always been a fan of T.I. I'm now his official stan. Mr. Got Em for the L-O has a big helping of humble pie to eat. Hail to the king.

Hammertime

Pray for Mr. Garr's safety out here in the streets of Philly y'all.

Philadelphia police arrested Thomas Scantling, 26 year-old with a criminal history, and charged him with attempted murder.

One of the most disturbing aspects of the attack is that nobody on the subway, and there were a number of fellow passengers, did nothing to protect 20 year-old Dewayne Taylor as he was being attacked. He received numerous stitches and a broken finger and says he does not know his attacker or have any idea why he was targeted.

As the video shows, Thomas Scantling ushers his 5-year-old son to a seat before taking a hammer out of his backpack and attacking Dewayne Taylor who is sitting in another seat. The fight continues onto a subway platform where Scantling allegedly tried to throw Taylor onto the tracks.

Us pedestrians need to rise up against this type of mess... Just because you're on public transportation does not give you the right to be crazy for crazy's sake! I've already boycotted Greyhounds thanks to Vince Weiguang Li, now I cant ride the train in Philly...

Let the record state...

...for 2 consecutive years, one of my students has peed on himself. Both circumstances were very different, but they both ended similarly. No details here, but if I know you and you ask, I'll tell. Ha.

U City

I'm only posting this as homage to my alma mater. As much as I hate on STL, this dude at least made it bearable. "Hot in Herre"? Yeah, you can't deny hearing Nelly while in St. Louis made a party hype. Now I have no idea what it'd do now, but like I said, it's more homage than cosign. Click the album cover.

Ne-Yo had a lip ring before Weezy

Download

His homocuriosity notwithstanding, you can't deny that Ne-Yo can write a hit song in his sleep. I gave it a few listens before I decided to go ahead and post it. Disfruta.

Man of the Year

Today was clearly a much-needed slow day on the gig if I watched a whole dj(insert the name of your favorite mixtape dj) tv interview with (insert your five favorite blogs' favorite rapper of the moment) today... I'm lying. I didnt watch the whole ten minutes. But DJ Semtex's interview with Styrofoam Cup Weezy (he's baaaaaaaack) revealed a few interesting points.

Drake is signed to Young Money

Dr. Carter was originally intended for Jay-Z

Apparently he had no idea what made the final tracklist for Tha Carter 3



I suppose the whole Drake signing to Young Money thing would explain why Wayne spit Drake's verse from Money To Blow over the Misunderstood instrumental during his VMA performance... and here I thought he was stealing. Of course not. Wayne was bigging up his brother, cuz he's big enough to do it. By the way, Leona Lewis is bad. If only her song wasn't so Marlon & Shawn White Girls with it, I just might have obsessed over her back in the spring like T-Money.

Social Darwinism

Despite the fact that good guys wear black and lake michigan used to be my backyard, I'm never one to drink the kool-aid regarding artists from Chicago, however when a nigga happens to be dope aaaaaand from the city of broad shoulders (Lupe, 'Ye, Mic Terror, etc...) I'm behind it 110%. Thats why y'all need to educate yourselves on my man TNS real quick. As one-half of The EP, he's got two EP's under his belt and the newest release is fresh to say the least. Erase all thoughts of Kid Sister or Mikey & Chuck out of your heads immediately... theres lyricsim abound here and a nice selection of beats. I'm personally hooked on World Play & Nothing Compares Click the cover to download.


The Native Soul (TNS) - An Evolution

...and just for good measure, I've been killing this jawn for like a year before I even heard Drake's Comeback Season mixtape. I think you'll like it understand why.

The EP - 2nd Spot

Shawwwtay Say What's Your Price?

Moms just hipped me to the fact that I have unclaimed property in Missouri today. Unclaimed property is an appropriate way of stating that them niggas got ta pay what they owe, or its finna be smoke in the city... or something like that.


As random as this may seem, I figured I'd drop some knowledge your way as you might also have $1 - $5 dollars locked up in one of these 50 state governements from sea to shining sea. Might not sound like much, but I'm sure Mr. Garr feels me... let the dollar circulate! I dont know how every other state does it, but for those of you YH!SN... faithful that got edjumacated in the Show Me State like myself and Mr. Garr, you might wanna hit up that yung state treasurer's office.

And a word from 2008's official milk carton all-star... RICH BOY!

Rock City

For those of you unfamiliar with the current political drama unfolding in Detroit... holla at my dood, DG from In Our Hands NYC. Anywho back in April, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers, Kilpatrick's most ardent supporter (save for his mother) and wife of Congressman John Conyers, got into a heated argument with Council President Ken Cockrel during a live council meeting. The end result was her certifiably japping on this nigga and calling him Shrek, amongst other wildly disrespectful dialogue. Following this she was brought before Detroit students to discuss her behavior in what I'm sure was intended to be a positive press opp. The end result, Councilwoman Conyers being baited into an argument with an 8th grader which succintly concluded with young'n scolding "sometimes people need to think before they act".

Somewhere around the way, Mrs. Conyers managed to threaten shooting DeDan Milton and take bribes from Synagro for a $47M sludge dumping contract (as if detroit wasnt dirty enough) in a seemingly action-packed year. I love my people... enjoy the clip!

Sting Like A Bee

I Blame Coco - How Did All These People Get In My Room?

I Blame Coco is a band fronted by the daughter of seminal Brit rocker Sting. I felt like unloading a goody before I started my day so take it. It's yours.

Thank You, Come Again

Marky x Mick Boogie Present The Drive Thru

The dude's over at Studio 43 sent this my way yesterday. I've neglected to post most the stuff I receive in our inbox, but I'll get better. Promise. For those unaware, Marky filled the void left by Wale's departure from Kenny Burns' Studio 43. I'm not gonna front like I know his material; I don't. There was brief internet chatter about beef between Wale and Marky waaaaay back. It seemed aimed at stimulating hype so I kinda ignored it.

youhypesikenah@gmail.com

Rapper Ternt Sanga?

The following post was submitted by one of our most--if not the most--avid readers back in April. Reading Dave's VMA Kanye post reminded me of it. I guess we aren't the only ones ahead of the curve. Enjoy:

Over the past couple of years, I’ve seen many declarative shirts that follow this template:
(New fad that probably wont last that long) IS THE NEW (Old Classic that we will revisit after a few months of Nostalgia)

With that being said, I have noticed a trend that has been cusping for a while, and with the latest joints featuring Phonte crooning (and sounding good might I add!), it hit me:

SINGING IS THE NEW RAPPING.
Take a second and just think about it. I mean let’s be real, we’re all used to rappers wanting to do something other than rap: act, play ball, act, own teams, run record labels, act, etc., but I never thought I’d see the day where the bully’s of the music industry would go Ralph Tresvant on us by the bundle. Isn’t this the same thing that 50 Cent used to end Ja Rule’s career? But then, he is singing his heart out on a few cuts (i.e. 21 Question, Take You To The Top, etc.), so 50 is the face of rap hypocrisy.

But as I start to really think about it, this really isn’t all that new. Crooning rappers have become the Navy Seals of Music, sneaking up on us and setting up shop on our musical shores before we even have a say. Here’s is a list of 10 notable Rappa Ternt Sangas (this list is in no particular order).

• Lil’ Wayne- Apparently Weezy F. got bit by same Haunted Synthesizer that turned T-Pain into Nate Dogg 3000. At Least he ain’t tryna “REALLY SANG”, cuz we could just imagine (shudder)…
  
• Ja Rule- Don’t Front. Anything with him and Lil’ Mo was good money…like 5 years ago. Everybody was “crying together” when Rule 3:3-6 came out…’til the Hail Mary dis record came out. Speaking of which…
  
• 50 Cent- I’m not gonna front; I like 50 more as a singer than a rapper. And you do too…“You ain’t gotta take ya panties off/ Just pull ‘em to the side?” “I tell these hoes all the time, ‘Bitch get in my car!’” Just think about it…
  
• Mos Def- My Umi: Jordan used it to sell his shoes. Jordan knows what’s up. Why don’t you?
  
• Andre 3000- Don’t get it twisted. He is the best rapper alive. But he’s great at so many other things too. Like crooning. If you didn’t get (understand) The Love Below, then you don’t know what love is.
  
• Cee-Lo Green- Before he was Gnarly, he was the Soul Machine. Before he was the Soul Machine, he was one of the dopest in the A. Learn yo’ history chilluns!
  
• Bone Thugs-N-Harmony- These dude pulled off the greatest musical caper since Milli Vanili. They had everybody thinking they were rappers. When you’re done with this article, go back and listen to E. 1999 Eternal…don’t feel bad. They got me too.
  
• Will.I.Am- Because he’s such a musical genius, it doesn’t surprise me that he can hold a tune. He killed the Common hook. He kills every hook. I’m dubbin’ him the new Quincy Jones. Now, if only we can get him to stop wearing knickers…
  
• Kanye West- Maybe he’s tryna save money (since he’s wastes so much making videos then scrapping them), but I noticed he sang a lot of his hooks on Graduation. A word of advice ‘Ye: Save the money on the videos and get Will.I.Am to do your hooks.
  
• Phonte (Lil’ Brother)- I was floored when I heard the Take on Me and Africa remakes. It was like when the quiet kid at your church gets up and sings a solo, and you’re like “I’ve known this nigga for 7 years, and had no idea.” Part of me was even mad that he kept that cat in the bag for so long.
  

Honorable Mentions: Black Thought (If you haven’t seen The Roots live then you prolly don’t know; Diddy (Last Night was enough to consider him for this list); K-Os (I’m not really sure which one he did first though…); Snoop (Sexual Eruption. Nuff Said.); Lupe Fiasco (see: Kanye West); Nelly (see: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony); Pharrell (I feel like he’s more singer than rapper; and more producer than anything);

Double The Fun

Jazmine Sullivan - Bust Your Windows (Official)

So yeah, we posted this already. Still, it was a bootleg version (check the bit rate). I only posted it for cool points, but now I guess it has officially become my young boo's next single, so, without further ado, I present you the official version along with the instrumental (hint: Dave, a possible remix?).

Your favorite blogger's favorite bloggers are currently grinding hard on our more official duties (you know, the ones that pay the bills), but don't worry, we haven't forgotten about you and will try to continue to post the best of what we scrap from the bottom-feeders of the 7 internets. Until then, you can always google your way through the sieve.

Impatience

Pardon the temporary Stan-status, but the new Kanye jawn is jammin in my humble opinion... typically we'd wait for a nice crispy version to leak, let the rest of the blogosphere jock for a week or so, and then distribute as a footnote... but I'm a bit on thirstmode today. My only concern with this soon to be radio-killa (word to Dream) is that between this and TIP's Whatever You Like, an impending onslaught of rappers-turnt-sangas is soon to befall us at an ungodly rate. If the great vocoder crisis of 2008 is any example, I'm digging up my entire Jay & Nas catalogs and hibernating for the winter.

Kanye West - Love Lockdown (Live from VMA's)

Rave Rap Is Here To Stay

Still not sure on how I felt about the execution of the Sony Studios backlot performances at the VMA's last night, but TI's joint with Rihanna seems to be a banger on what seems to be a return to form with this month's Paper Trail...

Numa Numa Y'all.

(edit: RE-UP!!!)

This made my day

Well not really. School started today, so I have a new class of ruffians to tame. It was a great day, so you won't hear much about it, but I just read this article on Obama's response to Palin's attacks off Yahoo! News and thought David Axelrod's quote was nerd-hilarious.

"They're shedding an awfully lot of heat but no light," he said. "It almost defies the laws of physics."

BTW, watching an hour of the RNC did more to convince me to vote for Obama than the entire DNC. Mitt Romney's misleading and anachronous speech scared me cuz it was so smooth, most people prolly didn't realize how wrong it was. Huckabee was good though, even if I can honestly say I disagree profoundly with his political ideologies, dude's got swagger. Anyway, Axelrod's quote was friggin hilarious.

*Edit* blogger tells me that this is the 666th post (including the drafts that I never posted). EEK!

Barnum & Bailey Would Be Proud...

Hands down, the best video of the year. As long as rappers dont use this as an open invite to swagger jack...

Rebels with a cause?

Solange ft. Wale - #uck the Industry

Take It Or Leave It

New drops that I'm neither hating nor cosigning. Links are borrowed, click the album covers to download.







And I'm doing this jus cuz. Click the movie poster to download.

Don't even know if this is new or not

Keri Hilson - Do It
Keri Hilson - Return the Favor

Haven't listened to it yet, either. We're having a meeting at school and I'm bored. You get treats.

No Jacket Required

Tracks 1-9

Tracks 10-17

The long-awaited, much-anticipated complete release from The Paxtons. They just completed a successful promo tour in NYC this Labor Day Weekend and are poised to begin their world takeover. My unbiased review is that this is a monster of a mixtape, on par with that of any well-known rapper. Proof is in the fact that the whole mixtape takes two links. For more info (including promo tees!), be sure to check out www.paxtonavenue.com.

Take it and spread it.

In God We Trust

I respect Bill Maher cuz the dude's got balls to say what he feels to anybody. He's a fearless critic, and I agree with him on most things, but I definitely disagree with him on religion. A devout atheist, Maher made a documentary about the "phenomena" of belief in religion. It's sure to be an interesting, and perhaps painful, film to watch. Here's the trailer:



When I caught Maher's trailer, I was reminded of a movie I heard about several months ago in church. It's produced by Ben Stein, the guy from the Clear Eyes commercials and former Nixon speechwriter, about intelligent design. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Stein's film rejects the theory of evolution as one of the greatest scientific fallacies ever and advocates the idea of creationism.



It's heavy. I know.

Harlem on the Rise

Anyone within the radius of a Chinatown bus should be in Harlem this Sunday at The Paxton's mixtape release party. It's been a long time coming. Not too much blood and tears, but a lotta sweat has been put into this mixtape, and from the looks of things, it hasn't been for nothing. We're still releasing Members Only here on Tuesday, September 2nd, but you can catch the homies performing a number of tracks off the mixtape at the release party (and maybe even leave with a hard copy). It's Labor Day Weekend, no work on Monday, and New York City. It would only be better if I promised you Kate Moss was gonna be there doing blow off the clavicles of Jourdan Dunn. I won't promise you that, but I'm not gonna say it's not gonna happen either.

MEMBERS ONLY Listening Party @ MOCA Bar & Lounge
2210 8th Ave. (119th & Frederick Douglass Blvd.)
Harlem, NY
6-10PM

And to whet the palate, below are links to five tracks from the upcoming Members Only Mixtape. Some you've heard, some you haven't:

American Boy Remix
Bless U feat. A-Ko
U And Her
Be Right Back
Everything (You Are) feat. Jessica Neal

Dirty Pop

I'm not much for modern art, even less for popular modern art. Yeah, I heard all the brouhaha over Murakami this time last year when Kanye and Marc Jacobs put him in the minds of the proletariat, and I've seen much of his work, but I never really got it. Maybe I'm not metropolitan enough, but it just wasn't my cup of tea. That's not to say he sucks, cuz the cover art for Graduation was definitely dope, as were a lot of his other work, but maybe the inner revolutionary begged for more than naked men ejaculating and Louis Vuitton luggage.

Banksy, on the other hand, is a friggin G tho. If you're about the "scene," then you should have at least heard of dood and no, I'm not providing a bio for those who haven't. That's what google and wikipedia are for. Anyways, I respect the fact that Banksy is an iconoclast in the purest sense. Not only is his work subversive, he himself is subversive, maintaining anonymity when he could easily reveal himself and be an artistic megastar. He's the MF Doom of the art world, except Banksy would never show up in public, masked or not. Still, his work is far from anonymous and is irreverent and conscious in a way that makes you uncomfortable--and not in that Japanese porn-as-art kinda way--but in a way that forces you to confront the hypocrisy of the (post-)modern world. The cynicism draws upon what we've come to regard as familiar and then asks us why have we allowed ourselves to grow so numb as to call these things familiar. War, poverty, mass media, broken governments, big brother, capitalism, celebrity worship, obsessive consumerism... are you okay living like this?

That said, Banksy recently left his home in the UK to travel to New Orleans. But before he left America's modern-day Pompeii he left his own mark in signature fashion. Enjoy:









The first one with the girl and the umbrella is my favorite. He provides commentary on some of these on his website (along with a catalog of his work). And because a few of our readers are artists, (and since I'm a fan of Mad Men), I'll let Banksy get the last word:

For the 215er, Mazeltov.

Click the cover to download.

Asher Roth's breakout mixtape was released back in June after a surprising rise in popularity thanks a lot to his impressive version of "A Milli" and his unabashedly white, jewish, suburban flava. Add to that the cosign from two of hip hop's biggest men on campus, DJ's Cannon and Drama, and you have the guy everybody can't help but compare to Slim Shady. No, I didn't put you onto this dude first, mostly cuz I knew I didn't need to when he was immediately getting play on the big blogs and such, but that didn't mean I neglected to notice his talent. Still, hype kills, so take the time to come to your own conclusions. He's a good rapper, a solid talent, and one who seems to take the art seriously, which is not always true of suburban white kids. Click the cover to download the mixtape and below are a couple other joints I scratched up.

Asher Roth - I Love College
Asher Roth - Swing Your Rag Radio Freestyle

This is Philly

In other news, I'll be back and forth betwixt NYC and Philly the next few days, setting up my classroom and hollering at the homies. The Paxtons release party's in Harlem on Sunday. I'll try to post specifics sometime within the next 24 hours but now it's back to the grind. Adieu.

P.S. It's a Wale vid I neglected to post after this joint.

Veritas

Supreme's fall preview is available here. Only tee worth copping is the JFK one so expect ebay prices by next week. Outside of that, I'm happy cuz I needed a new pair of jeans. A lotta ppl love Supreme, a lotta ppl don't. Hype has a lot to do with both groups. Regardless, they have some great pieces at times. My regular fit 'preme jeans are my favorite jeans in my closet so I'll prolly jus cop those as long as inflation and hype haven't upped the price too much. Other than that, I'm broke, so anybody interested in copping me those oxfords and chinos, get at me.

Boobies

Some of you may have missed out on some of the media attention given to this new film starring Penelope Cruz and Ben Kingsley. While in the Bay Area, I got a chance to catch this joint. Here are a few reasons why you should do yourself a favor and do the same:

• Penelope Cruz
• Penelope Cruz's eyes
• Penelope Cruz's accent
• Penelope Cruz's acting
  
• Penelope Cruz's breasts
• Penelope Cruz's breasts
• Penelope Cruz's breasts

Ok, so maybe I've done a disservice in reducing a great film to the physical beauty of it's main actress, but after you see it, you may understand there was a deeper reason in my doing so. The movie is great--the dialogue leaves something to be desired at times though. It's based off a novel and the images used as metaphors carry this film, along with the emotional quality of Penelope Cruz's performance. Many people write off Penelope as just another Hollywood pretty face. However, Cruz is one hell of an actress. Her performance in Volver was outstanding and the subtlety of her performance in Elegy carries this film from start to finish. Yeah, it's got Dennis Hopper and Ben Kingsley, who happens to be a British knight, and they do good jobs, but Cruz is really the reason to watch this. And did I mention you see her boobs?

The movie is a limited release so it may not be showing near you--I had to go to the left coast to catch it--but if it's showing in your city, or you catch a bootleg on one of the internets, watch it.