“Mother Nature just pissed her pantsuit!” – Danny McBride in Tropic Thunder

Okay, so maybe it’s not exactly the perfect transition into my mother’s day weekend post I was hoping for, but what better actor to ring in the holiday with than Danny McBride? After Dazzling audiences with his stunning performance of Rico in Hot Rod, McBride stepped away from his independent roots (All the Real Girls; The Foot Fist Way) into more serious roles, working with such Hollywood royalty such as George Clooney and Julie Andrews. Now at the top of his game, you can expect to see McBride in future classics Despicable Me, Your Highness, and more. Looking to fill in the gaps in your McBridefest 2010? Well, grab your mother and get on down to Moviecycle to find one of these fine cinematic McBride rides! And hey, if it’s sold out, ask us about special ordering or getting on the reserve list!

1. Hot Rod. Truly a cinematic masterpiece. By far the best comedy of 2007. McBride shines in this break-out role of Rico, the mechanic to stunt-superstar-wannabe Rod (Andy Samberg). Will Rico help Rod achieve his dreams? “I’m freakin pumped! I’ve been drinking green tea all goddamn day!”, Rico shouts excitedly.

2. Pineapple Express. Another stunning performance, this time with McBride tackling the diverse role of Red. Will Red be a saving grace to on-the-run innocents Dale and Saul (Seth Rogen and James Franco)? Or is Red pumping some dangerous iron up his sleeves (not a drug reference)? “I’m like the nerd at the sleepover who fell asleep at nine,” Red blushes.

3. Tropic Thunder. Cast along comedy heavyweights Jack Black, Ben Stiller, and even Robert DJ, McBride shames his A-list counterparts with his portrayal of Cody, the special effects specialist for the fictional film the characters are shooting on location in Vietnam. “Damian, what’s the dealie dude? Are we gonna blow up this tree line or what?”, Cody inquires.

4. The Foot Fist Way. Back from McBride’s independent days, The Foot Fist Way is both a gripping and harrowing look into the industry of childrens’ karate instruction. McBride is explosive in his role as Fred Simmons, whose goal is to be the best karate teacher this side of America. “Dentistry? I can’t even believe that’s something that’s real,” Simmons defends.

5. Eastbound & Down. McBride collaborates again with frequent collaborator Jody Hill (The Foot Fist Way, Observe and Report) in this gripping look into fictional baseball star (and ex-Seattle Mariner) Kenny Powers, whose efforts to raise his career from the dead are both fascinating and lovely. Airing on HBO, the show’s first season can be found on DVD for the rest of us. “I honestly just feel that America is the best country and the other countries aren’t as good. That used to be called patriotism,” Kenny swoons.

I apologize for the lapse in updates recently. We have actually gotten a lot of new stuff in trade recently (close to 400 just last week, in fact) but we’ve been gigantic slackers in terms of letting our readers know about it.  Now, rather than just run down this big huge list of titles, I’ll just cover a few highlights and interesting tidbits.

Martial arts fans might enjoy the Jet Li stuff we just got in, like The One, Romeo Must Die, Contract Killer and The Corrupter to name just a few. We also got in some Jackie Chan stuff, including Fearless Hyena, First Strike and The Forbidden Kingdom in which he shares the screen with Jet Li. Maybe you’d like Bruce Lee in Fists Of Fury? We’ve got that, too.

If you’re after music videos and/or concert performances, we’ve got you covered with things like Fatboy Slim Live At Brighton Beach, Dream Theater Live At Budokan, Nirvana Unplugged, The Melvins: Salad Of A Thousand Delights, several from Live At Montreaux series, including Curtis Mayfield, Return To Forever, Nile Rogers & Chic, UB40 and Wu Tang Clan. Also Seu Jorge who, if you’re not familiar with him, performed some beautiful songs on Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou like this cover of David Bowie’s Changes:

And speaking of Wes Anderson, I got a chance to watch The Fantastic Mr. Fox this weekend. Two things: Roald Dahl writes some really out there and creative stuff and Wes Ansderson is really well-suited to the task of bringing it to the screen, I think (no offense to Tim Burton. I liked Charlie And The Chocolate Factory a lot!). The story of a fox, forced to give up his life of crime (chicken-stealing) when his wife informs him she’s pregnant (in the middle of a job, no less), this might have worked just as well with humans rather than puppet animals, but there’s something about the voice of George Clooney as the wistful Mr. Fox, aching to pull just one more job (Danny Ocean, anyone?)… rounded out with many of Wes Anderson’s favored stars, like Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson, I highly recommend it. Unless I’m the last one to have seen it. And then I’m firmly in the “that was so good!” camp.

Coincidentally, the other movie I saw this weekend also featured animals and George Clooney. I swear I didn’t plan it that way. The Men Who Stare At Goats? tells the story of The First Earth Battalion, a new-agey approach to war and soldiers that the military really did sink a ton of money and thought into. Touching on a few wonderfully bizarre conspiracy theories (or are they?) like the MK-ULTRA mind control experiments, remote viewing, etc., and peppered with references to Jedi Warriors, I enjoyed this movie quite a lot. Certainly not perfect and possibly could have been better had the Coen Brothers done it but I’m glad I finally got around to seeing it.

So, there’s a little recap on some recent happenings around here. Don’t forget, you can always browse our inventory online, or even shop without having to get dressed with just a click or two. Try it out!