On this day in movie history - JCVD (2008):

JCVD

directed by Mabrouk el Mechri,

written by Frédéric Bénudis, Mabrouk el Mechri and Christophe Turpin,

was released in France on June 4, 2008.
Music by Gast Waltzing.

Cast:

Jean-Claude van Damme, François Damiens, Zinedine Soualem, Karim Belkhadra, Jean-François Wolff, Anne Paulicevich, Saskia Flanders, Dean Gregory, Kim Hermans, Steve Preston, Paul Rockenbrod, Alan Rossett, Jesse Joe Walsh, Isabelle de Hertogh.

On this day in movie history - Synecdoche, New York (2008):

Synecdoche, New York

directed and written by Charlie Kaufman,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 23, 2008.
Music by Jon Brion.

Cast:

Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Sadie Goldstein, Tom Noonan, Peter Friedman, Charles Techman, Josh Pais, Daniel London, Robert Seay, Michelle Williams, Stephen Adly Guirgis, Samantha Morton, Hope Davis, Emily Watson, Dianne Wiest, Frank Girardeau, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Amy Wright, Paul Sparks, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen, Deirdre O'Connell, Kat Peters, John Rothman, Amanda R. Phillips, Frank Wood, Deanna Storey, Elizabeth Marvel, Laura Odeh, Mark Lotito, Daisy Tahan, Erica Fae, Raymond Angelic Sr., Cliff Carpenter, Timothy Doyle, Amy Spanger, Nick Wyman, Portia, Dan Ziskie, Chris McGinn, Robin Weigert, Gerald Emerick, Alvin Epstein, Rosemary Murphy, Tim Guinee, Kristen Bush, Greg McFadden, Barbara Haas, William Ryall, Joe Lisi, Alice Drummond, Michael Higgins, Stanley Krajewski, Tom Greer, Christopher Evan Welch, Michael Medeiros, Pete Brennan, David Collihan, Brie Eley, Alan Gary, Don Gomez, Brigitte Hagerman, Scott Hatfield, Takako Haywood, Kyle Knauf, Brittany Krall, Amelia Martin, Rebecca Merle, Brenna Palughi, Sal Rinella, Tomasz Smolarski, Misha Zubarev.

On this day in movie history - Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008):

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

directed by Steven Spielberg,

written by David Koepp,

based on a story by George Lucas and Jeff Nathanson,

was released in the United States on May 20, 2008.
Music by John Williams.

Cast:

Harrison Ford, Cate Blanchett, Karen Allen, Shia LaBeouf, Ray Winstone, John Hurt, Jim Broadbent, Igor Jijikine, Dimitri Diatchenko, Emmanuel Todorov, Ilia Volok, Pasha D. Lychnikoff, Andrew Divoff, Venya Manzyuk, Alan Dale, Joel Stoffer, Neil Flynn, Chet Hanks, Brian Knutson, Dean Grimes, Sasha Spielberg, Nicole Luther, Sophia Stewart, Chris Todd, Dennis Nusbaum, T. Ryan Mooney, Audi Resendez, Helena Barrett, Carlos Linares, Gustavo Hernandez, Maria Luisa Minelli, Nito Larioza, Ernie Reyes Jr., Jon Valera, Kevin Collins, Robert Baker.

On this day in movie history - Two Lovers (2008):

Two Lovers

directed by James Gray,

written by James Gray and Richard Menello,

was released at the Cannes Film Festival in France on May 19, 2008.

Cast:

Joaquin Phoenix, Vinessa Shaw, Gwyneth Paltrow, Samantha Ivers, Anne Joyce, Elliot Villar, Craig Walker, Carmen M. Herlihy, Donald John Hewitt, Christian Albrizo, Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonov, Julie Budd, Bob Ari, Iain J. Bopp, Jeanine Serralles, Miguel Rivera, Clinton C. Ingram, Doug Wright, David Ross, Elias Koteas, Shiran Nicholson, Marion McCorry, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, David Cale, Sy Fader, Joel Horwitz, John Baker, Kathryn Gerhardt, Luis Dalmasy Jr., Alex Felix, Geronimo Frias, Mari Koda, Pedro Saint Morillo, Anthony Ramos, Diosmer Reynoso, Edwige Sam, Franco Bulaon, Renee Fishman, Bianca Giancoli, Nick Gillie, Andrew Ginsburg, Brian Hopson, RJ Konner, Evan Lewis, Jose Edwin Soto, Uziman.

On this day in music history - The 10,000 Steps, by Biomusique (2008):

The 10,000 Steps

Album by Biomusique,

released May 13, 2008.

Track list:

Ananda; Caeli et Terra; The Tender Greens; Persephone; Ohroo; Redemption; Empty Spaces; 10,000 Steps.

On this day in music history - Unspoken, by Jami Sieber (2008):

Unspoken

Album by Jami Sieber,

released April 22, 2008.

Track list:

Opening; Benediction; The River Between; Night Song; 6 O'Clock News; The Moon Inside; Listening; A Dialogue of Silk; Broken Open; Unspoken; Returning.

On this day in movie history - 88 Minutes (2007):

88 Minutes

directed by Jon Avnet,

written by Gary Scott Thompson,

was released in the United States on April 18, 2008.
Music by Edward Shearmur.

Cast:

Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Amy Brenneman, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Ben McKenzie, Neal McDonough, Leah Cairns, Stephen Moyer, Christopher Redman, Trilby Glover, Damien Leake, Brendan Fletcher, Michael Eklund, Kristina Copeland, Tammy Hui, Vicky Huang, Bob Stephenson, Philip Moon, Victoria Tennant, Michal Yannai, Paul Campbell, Brenda McDonald, Carrie Genzel, Kaj-Erik Eriksen, Heather Dawn, Julian Christopher, Tim Henry, Mike Dopud, Brad Turner, Michael Adamthwaite, Jean Montanti, Tim Perez, Marcus Hondro, Rebecca Chunn, Elan Even, Celeste White Steele, Linley Subryan.

On this day in movie history - Ghost in the Shell (1995):

Ghost in the Shell

directed by Mamoru Oshii,

based on the Manga comic book series by Masamune Shirow,

was released in the United States on March 29, 1996.
The DVD of the updated Ghost in the Shell 2.0 version was released in the United States on January 12, 2010.

Voice cast:

Atsuko Tanaka, Maaya Sakamoto, Akio Ōtsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Kōichi Yamadera, Tamio Ōki, Yutaka Nakano, Tesshō Genda, Mitsuru Miyamoto, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Shigeru Chiba.

On this day in movie history - The Last Lullaby (2008):

The Last Lullaby

directed by Jeffrey Goodman,

written by Max Allan Collins and Peter Biegen,

based on the short story by Max Allan Collins,

was released in the United States on March 28, 2008.
Music by Ben Lovett.

Cast:

Tom Sizemore, Sasha Alexander, Sprague Grayden, Bill Smitrovich, Ray McKinnon, Omid Abtahi, Randall Batinkoff, Jerry Hardin, Smith Cho, Paul Rae, Ritchie Montgomery, Jason Konopisos-Alvarez, Jacob Tolano, Edrick Browne, Odessa Feaster, Kenneth Wayne Bradley, Steve Krieger, Mary Alfred Thoma, Candy Richardz, Marcus Shultz, Breanna Brooks, Mellinda Craig, Brad Dison, Ron Fagan, Evan Helmuth, Rodney Hill Jr., Lori Knighton, Jessica "Ameelah" McDaniel, Terry Milam, Ashley-Anne Parker, Jeannie Perrin, Shawnia Willson.

On this day in music history - Chakra Sound Meditation, with Tryshe Dhevney (2008):

Chakra Sound Meditation

Album by Tryshe Dhevney,

released March 5, 2008.

Track list:

Introduction to the Chakra Sound Meditation; Chakra Sound Meditation Instructions; Chakra One – I have; Chakra Two – I Feel; Chakra Three – I Act; Chakra Four – I Love; Chakra Five – I Speak, I Am Heard; Chakra Six – I See; Chakra Seven – I Know – Harmonic Blessing With Crystal Singing Bowls.

On this day in music history - Chakra Tones Home Audio Course, by Tryshe Dhevney (2008):

Chakra Tones Home Audio Course

Sound Shifting
The Practical Art Of Authentic Expression
Album by Tryshe Dhevney,
released February 26, 2008.

Track list:

Introductions; Chakra Tones Introductions; The Tones And Posture; First Chakra; Second Chakra; Third Chakra; Fourth Chakra; Fifth Chakra; Sixth Chakra; Seventh Chakra; Sonic Blessing.

Recommended reading - The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir, by Foster Hirsch (2008):

The Dark Side of the Screen: Film Noir

By Foster Hirsch.

Published by Da Capo.

2nd edition.

Published 2008.

Paperback.

ISBN-10: 0306817721

ISBN-13: 978-0306817724

Description:

Foster Hirsch's Dark Side of the Screen is by far the most thorough and entertaining study of the themes, visual motifs, character types, actors, directors, and films in this genre ever published. From Billy Wilder, Douglas Sirk, Robert Aldrich, and Howard Hawkes to Martin Scorsese, Roman Polanski, and Paul Schrader, the noir themes of dread, paranoia, steamy sex, double-crossing women, and menacing cityscapes have held a fascination. The features that make Burt Lancaster, Joan Crawford, Robert Mitchum, and Humphrey Bogart into noir heroes and heroines are carefully detailed here, as well as those camera angles, lighting effects, and story lines that characterize Fritz Lang, Samuel Fuller, and Orson Welles as noir directors.For the current rediscovery of film noir, this comprehensive history with its list of credits to 112 outstanding films and its many illustrations will be a valuable reference and a source of inspiration for further research.

“Wonderfully readable: Hirsch is clear, knowledgeable, and concise….[The Dark Side of the Screen] is a visual as well as literary pleasure.” – Martin Jackson, Cineaste.

“There has been no extended work as good as Foster Hirsch’s The Dark Side of the Screen, a well-written, imaginatively illustrated book that sees the brief, true heyday as between Wilder’s Double Indemnity (1944) and his Sunset Boulevard (1950), but looks at the prelude and the aftermath, and sets the genre in its larger social and cultural context.” – Philip French, The Observer (London).

“An important examination of what film noir is…The 264-page treatise is not a review source; rather, Hirsch’s academic work delves deeply with a scholarly but not dry approach.” – Skyscraper, Spring 2009.

On this day in music history - Miss Understood, by Carolyn Wonderland (2008):

Miss Understood

Album by Carolyn Wonderland,

released February 5, 2008.

Track list:

Misunderstood; I Found the Lions; Bad Girl Blues; Walk on; Still Alive and Well; Long Way to Go; Trouble in the City; Throw My Love; I Live Alone with Someone; The Farmer Song; Feed Me to the Lions; I Don't Want to Fall for You.