Between breaks for holidays and vacations, a brief return with notes on Patton Oswalt in ‘Big Fan’, ‘The State’ on DVD, Chan-wook Park’s ‘Thirst’, New Flaming Lips, and ‘Modern Warfare 2′ (with goggles?).

[Editor's Note: Apologies for the slow month here on Under Culture; the onset of summer has kept us out celebrating America, vacationing, etc. Here are a handful of interesting bits for now, and we'll return with more full articles and podcasts by the end of the month.]

The problem with being a non-professional fan/critic during LA Film Fest is that as someone with a day job, a lot of the afternoon or evening screenings aren’t feasible. Then, of the showings that are at night or on weekends, several potentially great films play in the same time slots. Probably my biggest regret was not being able to catch Big Fan, showing at the same time as In The Loop (which was also wonderful).

If you still haven’t heard of it, Big Fan follows a hard-core NY Giants fan, played by Patton Oswalt, with no life outside his fandom. Shitty job, living with his mom, obsessively calling in to sports talk radio. Sounds like a sad nothing of a movie, until a run-in with one of the team’s stars brings him into the spotlight, with a shot at fame and fortune he may or may not want to take.

Though the premise still might not sound that exciting, there are three major reasons I was so eager to see this film last month, and excited to get the chance soon:

1) Patton Oswalt in a non-comedy role. Since he’s a self-professed comic nerd playing a sports junkie, I can’t wait to see how this turns out. Especially since I suspect there are some acting chops somewhere under the brilliant stand-up performances. His comedy already involves a lot of dramatic storytelling, but seeing him as a character so different from the one he plays most — himself — will be fascinating if he delivers. His likeable everyday-guy persona in a role where a sad everyday guy’s life gets put in an insane situation could be pretty riveting.

2) Written and directed by Robert Siegel, writer of The Wrestler. One of the most intimate, honest character stories in years, and definitely one of last year’s best films, The Wrestler was an impressive display of talent. Another equally moving, brutally honest personal story is what it will take to make Big Fan something powerful. If he succeeds, we may have a new writer to watch.

3) Not another shitty sports movie. The market is flooded with ‘the inspirational true story of a team that overcame the odds’-type movies. We don’t need more of those (another season of Friday Night Lights will do just fine, thanks). But how many movies examine the strange, somewhat pathetic relationship of super-fans to the teams they love in a real way? This is a story I haven’t seen and am interested in. And no, De Niro as The Fan doesn’t count.

Enjoy the trailer below, and look out for the film in theaters in September.

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After what seems like a decade of obscurity, The State is finally back.

And how sweet it is. Caught for years in music rights limbo — oh, that naive time when TV producers didn’t think about home video as a future distribution channel for their shows — the classic 90’s sketch comedy box set all the fans wanted was finally released this week, albeit without some of the familiar audio cues.

Finally, those of us who’ve been saying “Men can’t grow beards in space”, “We love the tacos, we just need our mail,” or the classic catch-line parodies “I’m outta heeeeeere” and “I wanna dip my balls in it” can relive the some of the long-lost comedy of our formative teenage years.

For those who somehow missed out on the funniest show on MTV in the 90’s, whether through lack of cable at the house or parents who thought MTV might turn them into evil drug fiends, this series is a mandatory bit of catch-up. Like most of the great comedy troupes like Monty Python, Kids in the Hall, or even SNL back when it was funny, there are certainly some duds, no question. But when they were on, they brought their own brand of brilliance to the form with some of the most absurdly hilarious bits of a generation. Though some have gone on to do other great things like Reno 911, Stella, Wet Hot American Summer, Role Models, and Michael & Michael have Issues, debuting this week, it’s great to see them in their original super-group formation.

Even if you can’t spring for the whole set (huge mistake), or have no idea why you should, you may still be able to catch some episodes re-running on Comedy Central to promote the DVD release. If not, here are a few of the best for now, but at least throw it on the Netflix queue. You owe it to yourself.

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Earlier this month, I wrote a blurb on a movie called Daybreakers, out next year, applauding the filmmakers for putting a spin on vampires that didn’t involve making them all friendly and assimilating with humans like sissies. Though I am still interested to see what happens with that film, I only recently discovered that, in a matter of weeks, another more brutal and disturbing vampire movie is heading to select theatres.

Thirst, the next film from Oldboy director Chan-wook Park, is at least twice as exciting, and you can see the restricted trailer at the Focus Films site.

I honestly believe that Park is one of the most creative directors working today, both in the stories he tells and the way he captures them on film. Any complaints about tired depictions of vampires will certainly no longer apply with this guy at the helm. Be sure to catch it if you can, starting July 31st.

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With a new double album on the way this fall titled Embryonic, one of the weirdest and most fun live bands out there are hitting the road this summer. The Flaming Lips have always made their own way in the music business, whether releasing an album on four discs to be played simultaneously on four boomboxes (Zaireeka), or making their own bizarre sci-fi b-movie (Christmas on Mars).

This time, their forward — or what some may call sideways — thinking is netting much more practical results. Aside from the possible giant hamster ball sighting, tickets to this summer’s concerts also net you some excellent digital goodies. Buying the tickets gets you a code to download a 6-song digital EP with three tracks from the new album and three rare b-sides before the show, and then an official bootleg of the show you attended shortly after.

See The Flaming Lips’ site for tour dates and offer details.

This is exactly the kind of thing bands should be doing in this climate of both economic trouble and live show price gouging. When a band you love comes to town and admission prices are climbing past the fifty or sixty dollar mark, it makes the decision a lot easier when you feel like you’re getting more than just the couple hours worth of entertainment. Especially when you’re rewarding fans with early access to new music, and including a unique memento of the show they’ve just seen afterward. Bravo to Wayne Coyne and crew for the progressive thinking.

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Lastly, in a possibly less practical move in product bundling, we have Modern Warfare 2, the hugely anticipated sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. If you haven’t seen the videos yet, shame on you.

It’s safe to say that most of the gaming world will be playing this game in the fall, and with good reason. The last volume was an incredible piece of interactive narrative, and an extremely polished gaming experience too. Of course, whenever one of these major franchise titles comes out, the new habit is to offer a special edition with bonus goodies for the super-fans willing to pay extra for anything labeled ‘limited’, ’special’, or ‘extreme’.

Halo 3 did it with some success — and a fair bit of mockery for its ‘cat helmet‘ — but MW2 is kicking that model right in the face. And doing it in the pitch black of night, no less, by offering a set of real-life working night vision goggles in their ‘Prestige Edition’. Not only that, you get a molded plastic head on which to display them. You know, in case you’re too busy playing multiplayer to notice the end of the world happening outside your window, and need to grab them quick before the apocalypse knocks out all the lights.

This may be the most egregious pack-in yet, but I’d guess the crazy fans will still eat it up. Personally, I don’t need infiltration hardware with my video games, and will probably continue looking forward to just buying and playing the ‘Normal Person Edition’ in November.