Film: Black Swan Comes to DVD and Blu-Ray On March 29th

As you should know by now, Black Swan is my second favorite film of 2010 and its lead, Natalie Portman, won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Nina, a dancer who finds herself in competition with Lily (Mila Kunis), a new arrival—and rival—at the company.

The Oscar-nominated psychological thriller was directed by Darren Aronofsky, will be out on DVD and Blu-Ray on March 29th. Go ahead and get your pre-order on right here.

Film: I Still Think The Social Network Should Have Won Best Picture

Hooray for Harvey.

The Weinstein Company honcho is back on top after The King’s Speech cleaned up at the 83rd Academy Awards. The Guardian is calling him the “Oscars’ comeback kid,” saying he’s made a return to glory after suffering a few not-so-good years.

You see, Harvey Weinstein is a genius marketer, and he’s especially adept at campaigning for Oscar gold. Lest we forget, he’s the man who shepherded 1998’s Shakespeare in Love to Best Picture over Saving Private Ryan. (It should be said that I’ve always preferred Shakespeare to Ryan, but no one, even me, really believed it had a chance.)

That earlier contest should have served as foreshadowing for last night’s miscarriage of voting. You see, The King’s Speech did not win because it was truly the year’s best picture. It won because Weinstein campaigned mightily and successfully for its win.

Don’t get me wrong. I saw The King’s Speech and I liked it a great deal. I thought the acting was superb across the board; had Geoffrey Rush or Helena Bonham Carter taken the Oscar in the categories for which they’d been nominated, I wouldn’t have been upset.

Amazing acting aside, however, The King’s Speech is not the type of film that truly shows the magic of the cinema. It’s not a visual marvel by any means. Its feel-good story is a by-the-numbers affair; if you’ve seen one underdog story, you’ve seen them all. Simply put, it brings nothing new to the table.

Ratchet: Charlie Sheen vs. GZA – “Liquid Sheen”

It’s Sheen versus Shaolin in this hilarious, twisted mashup.

Lapdance Academy’s Brian Grosz took some of the looniest bits of Charlie Sheen‘s recent interview with syndicated radio host Alex Jones and mixed them with GZA‘s hip-hop classic. It’s all about Vatican assassins, F-18s, and Thomas Jefferson.

Video: Mala Reignz & Quest – “Moment 4 Life (Remix)”

Not too long ago, Mala Reignz and Quest Kuriaki got together to spit that realness over the instrumental of Nicki Minaj‘s current hit. Mala and Quest’s version is a certified banger—just ask XXL—and now they’ve dropped a visual to go along with it. Check it out above.

New Music: Collie Buddz featuring Sean Paul – “On My Way Back Home”

It’s shameful to admit this but I don’t get to hear new reggae and dancehall as often as I’d like. It’s especially distressing after living in Miami for 12 years; for a while, it was the only music I would even dance to at the club. So it’s always nice to hear something, like this fresh tune from Collie Buddz featuring my man Sean-a-Paul.

Video: Prince, Sheila E. & New Power Generation Cover Rihanna’s “Rude Boy”

Exactly what it says on the tin.

I already posted this on Teh Tumblr, but it couldn’t hurt to post it here either. This performance apparently took place during the Oakland stop of Prince‘s current tour. It’s funky, I can dig it. Shout out to Ms. Escovedo—she is still so fine.

Watch the video while you still can. The Purple One is notorious for having footage like this removed quickly.

News: L.A. Times 2010 Book Prize Finalists Announced

Today, the finalists for the L.A. Times 2010 Book Prizes were announced. Prizes are awarded in ten categories that recognize the work of fifty different writers.

The winners will be announced awards ceremony taking place on April 29, but two awards have already been revealed via press release:

Beverly Cleary is the recipient of the annual Robert Kirsch Award for lifetime achievement and the first children’s author to win the award in its 31-year history […] Iconic Powell’s Books, the world’s largest independent bookstore, will be presented with the 2010 Innovator’s Award, which spotlights cutting-edge business models, technology or applications of narrative art.

David L. Ulin will host the awards ceremony and presenters include Jim Newton, Robin Abcarian, and Jonathan Kirsch. The event kicks off the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which take place from April 29th to May 1st.

See the Current Interest and Fiction nominees below.