Happy Friday!

Lady Gaga fan video from an unlikely crowd:

Linkulous: Vampire Diaries, Lost, Twitter and more

The Kids Are Addicted To Social Media

"Imagine if the Tea Party Was Black" - Tim Wise

Fang TV: 'Vampire Diaries' Showrunners Kevin Williamson & Julie Plec

Twitter Soars in Social Mainstream

15 TV Show Remakes That Were Utter Disasters - I agree with everything on this list except for the last one. While V started off weak, since it's hiatus it's been must-see TV.


Hawaii filming of 'Lost' spent $228M locally over 4 years

Few Broadcast Primetime Shows Draw More Men Than Women - interesting look at which shows skew more female. I know there are more women than men in the states, but there seem to be a lot more female viewers. I guess video games take precedence for men.

An Interview with Seth Godin: Finding career stability

Today I sat in on a great webinar organized by @BrazenCareerist with Seth Godin. He's such an inspiring guy, having written many books about how to cut in this changing economy and job market.

Below are a few of the highlights from the hour long chat:

Write down all the things you're interested in, circle one and do it until you get through The Dip challenges. 

Choose your goal, write down the date/time you'll acheive it, pick a friend to keep you accountable, see if you succeed. Without parameters (date/time/goal) we aren't pushing ourselves. We should be able to measurably fail or succeed.


Seth Godin's advice to college grads: Don't look for a job. Look for art, a path and keep your overhead low. Make a dent in the universe.

There is a price to pay for being human and the price is that you have to confront your fear.

Stand by your ethics in business and in life.

If your job can be described and written up in a manual, someone can do it cheaper.

The "right" Dip (period of suffering and paying your dues) is one you can accomplish and one that you're proud of.

If your ideas don't make you nervous, then you're not working hard enough on your ideas or your goals.

You can either whine about your day job or make things happen.

Learning to follow rules and getting rewarded is someone else's vision of being successful in your life.

There is no work/life balance - you just decide what you are doing and do it. You decide what your standard is for both. If Ronald Reagan can work no more than 7 hours a day while running the country, you can accomplish anything you want and still have time for family. 

Unstability can lead to breakout. You can do your best work when the things that are important are unstable but everyday life is completely stable.

Make a list of all the people whose gigs you want. Find out how they got them, then carve your own path.

Learning to follow the rules and hoping to be rewarded for doing so is learning how to fulfill someone else's vision.

Most people who have done something exceptional did not need a graduate degree.

These are some great nuggets to sit and chew on. I'll definitely be thinking about these while I struggle through my quarterlife crisis.

For more on Seth, you can check out his blog or follow him on twitter. 
Also check out the write-up that Brazen Careerist did about the event.

My Favorite Glee Auditions

There are tens of thousands of glee audition videos up on MySpace. Below are my favorites of the ones I've watched. Granted, most of these are my friends, or friends of friends. That's the only way I came across them in the sea of videos up on the Glee page. So while this is biased and from such a small sample, I still wanted to share these talented kids' audition videos. If you like any of them, just click on their name and give them gold stars.

Sarah Michelle Newswanger

Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video
Full disclosure: she's my roommate. But, I still think she's one of the most talented of the ones I've seen.

Kenton Chen

Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video


Catherine

Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video

Brian Givens

Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video

Have you seen any other great ones? I'm kind of addicted to watching and voting.

Women in Movies

I belive this problem stems back to the problems behind the scenes. If there were more women involved in every step of this process, then we would see a shift. Until that happens though, I think we're store for more of the same.

Eenie Meenie by Justin Bieber and Sean Kingston

I hate to admit how much I'm digging this song.

Good Deal: Free Bagel

Stop in to your local Noah's Bagels and get a free bagel and shmear from now until May 2! Just print out the above coupon and you're all set to enjoy that carby goodness!

Iron Man 2: Whiplash 3D Game

Iron Man 2 just keeps cranking out these viral marketing videos and extras! Read more for the latest release: a Whiplash online game in 3D! 

"Whiplash: Slash and Burn is a fast-paced browser game to promote the theatrical release of Marvel's Iron Man 2 this May.

In the game the player takes control of Iron Man's new nemesis Whiplash as he storms the race track where Stark is racing.

Using Whiplash's cable-whip arms, the player will attempt to destroy the racing cars as they speed towards the screen. After hitting enough cars, a special power surge is rewarded, which can be used to knock out multiple vehicles.

The main aim is to annihilate Tony Stark's car as he passes. As the timer ticks down the cars increase in speed making it harder to earn points for destruction. On completing the game the player can add their high score to a leaderboard.

This explosive game shows that Unity is bringing the 3D browser game to a new level of sophistication."

Iron Man 2 - Whiplash 'Slash & Burn' Unity 3D Game
Uploaded by rubberrepublic. - Click for more console and PC gaming videos.

To download it, click the link: http://littleloud.com/live/im2/

Glee: Myspace Auditions

Nearly 28,000 people have uploaded audition videos to MySpace in hopes of snagging a role on Glee, and over 85 million votes have been casts for those videos.

My roommate was one of the many to put up a video and I'm wishing her the best of luck! You can watch her rendition of "True Colors" below:


Glee song

Glee | MySpace Video

To vote for her, you can visit this link to give Gold Stars.

Mash up: The Beatles and Nine Inch Nails

An awesome mash up of The Beatles "Come Together" and Nine Inch Nails "Closer" called "Let's All Come Together On Her Face" - which is risque, but fairly accurate of how the lyrics fit together.

  The Beatles Vs Nine Inch Nails - Lets All Cum Together On Her Face (mix\mashup) DJ Zebra by Mixes and Mashups #3

Good Deal: 31 Cent Scoop Night

Tonight is Baskin Robbin's 31 cent scoop night! Stop in to your local Baskin-Robbins between 5-10pm to get a delicious, nearly-free scoop of your favorite flavor while also helping your local fire service organization.

"Help your neighborhood raise money for YOUR local fire service organization during Baskin-Robbins 31 Cent Scoop Night. For the 4th annual event, Baskin-Robbins is partnering with National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. The Baskin-Robbins Community Foundation will donate $100,000 to the non-profit organization. Locally, Baskin-Robbins is providing an opportunity for firefighters and store owners to come together for an event of fun, smiles and fundraising for local fire service organizations."

For more information, visit Baskin-Robbin's Official Website.

I'll be getting a scoop of Pecan Praline, what about you?

Glee: Cupcakes

In honor of tonight's new episode of Glee, check out these adorable cupcakes! Don't forget to tune in tonight at 9 pm EST/PST on Fox.

[via Only Cupcakes Tumblr]

Music Monday: Hey Soul Sister

This little kid's cover of Hey Soul Sister is adorable. I love the ukulele, too.

[via @feminista09]

Lady Gaga A Cappella

I love the choreography! I also enjoy the random moments of other Lady Gaga songs thrown in.

I know who I want to be on the next season of The Sing-Off!

[via]

Chuck: New Tonight!

Chuck returns tonight! I'm very interested to see how things play out now that Chuck and Sarah are FINALLY together. This is Chuck Season 3.5, so be sure to tune in tonight on NBC at 8pm EST/PST.

What does Season 3.5 mean? Well, the show originally wrote and shot 13 episodes per NBC's show order. But once the Jay Leno snafu happened, NBC requested 6 more episodes. The last new episode was originally meant to be a season (possibly series) finale, but then they had to create 6 more episodes to full out NBC's season order. And the episode definitely wrapped up some storylines - Casey is back in the government's good graces, Shaw is gone, and most importantly Chuck and Sarah are together! I hope they know where they are going from here and can balance the new romance with the spy action. I'll be tuning in to see, and so should you!

SNL Highlights: Gabourey Sidibe

After last week's lackluster episode, Saturday Night Live needed the jolt of hilarity and personality that is Gabourey Sidibe. Given her candor on red carperts and interviews, everyone could guess this would be a great episode. While she was great, the writing definitely had its holes with that "Public Employee Awards" and "I Did it My Style: Frank Sinatra." However, it did have some great sketches thrown in. Below are a few of my favorite sketches from the night.

Opening Monologue

The "I'm Gabourey" song just may have been my favorite bit of the whole night.

Keenan as Steve Harvey

"This suit has 50 buttons!"

Crazy Ms. Jackson

“My daddy used to sell Wikipedias...that’s why we was always so poor.”

Weekend Update:
Stefan: City Correspondent


Girl Scout Cookies Rant

 Thin Mints...put them in the freezer...unless you don't like having your mind blown
"Have more pride in yourselves, Girl Scout Cookies! UR worth more than just coming out once a year. UR not candy canes or the McRib"

Alarm Clocks and More


Other tidbits worth a mention:
The papacy of Pope Benedict turned 5 this year...and a priest hit on it....!
"There's nothing more Nazi than saying "show me your papers. Heads up Arizona, that's fascism."
"Anytime someone says 'Show me your papers," Hitler's family gets a residual check."
"Bad PCP - you gotta try this man. It's gonna make you sooo cautious."

What did you guys think of the episode?

100 Best Movie Lines in 200 Seconds

How many have you seen? I tried to keep track and believe I've seen all but 14. I really need to get around to seeing the Alien movies and Gladiator.

[via]

The TV Theme Song Medley

In honor of my look back at television theme songs and opening credits, check out this medley:

Good Deal: Jamba Juice Buy One Get One FREE

Stop in at your local Jamba Juice to order any drink and get a 2nd one absolutely free! Just print out this coupon and you're all set. Any drink is eligible, so go wild!

This deal has been going on for a week or so now, but I missed the boat until just now. Offer ends 4/25 so hurry up and go!

Iron Man 2: Augmented Reality App

For this year's early summer blockbuster, 'IRON MAN 2', Paramount has delivered an Augmented Reality campaign allowing users to see themselves wearing the Iron Man and War Machine masks. Paramount delivered a similar for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen but took this opportunity to really extend the technology.

This time round the AR experience allows users to see the HUD view that Tony has when he is Iron Man plus have a conversation with Jarvis using quotes from the movie.

But most importantly, as we live in an embeddable, shareable world, Paramount wanted to make sure the user could easily record and share themselves as Iron Man so the tech was integrated to ensure the whole experience can now be recorded and saved to social networks or to their own computer.

I Am Iron Man 2: Augmented Reality app (www.iamironman2.com) from Rubber Republic on Vimeo.


While this looks awesome, I am sad that we don't have this technology in our every day lives yet. This is 2010, where's my holographic computing system?!

Top 5 Opening Credits: Present

Like I mentioned earlier this week, television show opening credits are dying. I'm sure I'm taking this harder than most, but I truly believe that opening credits are an art. They establish an entire show's universe in under a minute with a song/tune and selected clips. To honor their passing, below are my Top Five Opening Credits for shows currently on air. Stay tuned for my Top Five for shows that aren't on anymore (sneak peak: Buffy).

5. True Blood

While it doesn't set up the characters, it does an excellent job of introducing the tone of the show. By contrasting images of religion, gross creepy-crawlers, and the south set to the bluesy rock of "I wanna do bad things to you" you get thrown in to this not-quite-real town of Bonne Temps waiting for its dark side to come out.

4. How I Met Your Mother

In just 13 seconds, we know the friendship and dynamics of this group. Plus, the upbeat ditty just makes you ready to laugh.


3. Chuck

Set to Cake's Short Skirt/Long Jacket, the animation introduces the characters while simulateously showing that while this is a spy show, it knows how to go for laughs.

2. Mad Men

The haunting music, the silhoutte/shadow of man falling through the ads, the office falling away while he watches, and then ending with him leaned back in a chair, presumably enjoying a drink. Don't tell me that does not perfectly encapsulate everything that is Don Draper and Mad Men.

1. The Big Bang Theory

This gets bonus points for being the only show to have its theme song specifically written for the show. Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady were inspired after hearing the Bare Naked Ladies' "One Week" and asked them to create something for their new show. The song, characters, and clips let you know this is a geek's show about a group of friends, their nerdy adventures, and hints at the evolution they all will go through during the show. Ok, that last one may be a stretch but I still believe it.

What are you favorite opening credits on tv right now? Anything with only one note a title card is automatically disqualified. I'm looking at you LOST, The Vampire Diaries, FlashForward, V and Glee! You would think a show all about music would have a musical theme song.

Movie Review: The Losers

Update: The Losers opens today to mixed reviews. Keep reading to see my review from last month when I saw an advance screening.

This week I got to be at one of the first screenings for the new movie The Losers. Watch the trailer below:



The trailer is what got me interested in seeing the film, and it lived up to most of my expectations. This was a fast, fun little action movie with solid performances from the cast. The cast did a good job with the material they were given, but Chris Evans stood out from the rest. He brought humor and depth to his supporting role, and hopefully this bodes well for his turn as Captain America. I've been a fan of his since Not Another Teen Movie and The Perfect Score. He has consistently been the best part of a mediocre movie, and that trend doesn't end here.

The movie starts out strong, though kind of fizzles at the end. The opening scene was fantastic: it got me interested in the story and these characters and kept me on the edge of my seat. It kept up this pace until about halfway through when Roque has his big moment. After that, the story shifts and just never really recovers. The ending action scene should have been better than the opening, but it dragged and I was no longer invested as much.

While the version I saw did not have all of the special effects finished, what was there was exciting and great. I particularly liked the fight sequences and explosions, but what stands out most is the display of the effect of the "snook" weapon. (Did no one involved in this project think of that South Park episode and consider changing the name?)

The music throughout was distracting, but that is probably going to be changed a bit before the movie is released, since it seemed like a common complaint on the survey. If they end up changing some of the music, then I think it will really help the second half - the action scenes are all set to music and that was also part of the pacing problem I mentioned earlier.

Despite the music and lackluster 2nd half, I would still recommend this for a great weekend matinee or rental. While not necessarily worth the $12 it costs to see a movie in LA, it's definitely worth seeing at some point.

Rating: 2.5 out of 4 stars.

Linkulous: Scott Baio, Christina Hendricks, Man-cession and more

Happy Friday! Here are some great articles I read throughout the week. 

Scott Baio's Online Meltdown: A Complete Timeline

What Next, the Official Salad Dressing of ‘Sex and the City 2’?


Christina Hendricks: A Letter to Men

Man-cession? Gains in education help women avert worst of job losses in downturn, for now

Confessions Of A 30k Millionaire

Twitter Brings Down Top Official In India 

"Oh My Lady Gaga" is the coolest new expression in China 

Sonoma County Deems Elderly Gay Couple 'Roommates' and Then Takes Over Their Lives

'American Idol' overruns have become unprofessional

Twilight Eclipse: New Trailer

Watch it now!




This is starting to look promising! The third book had the epic battles and the evolution of the Werewolves became complete and it looks like the movie could live up to it.

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse comes out June 30. We'll see if it can hold its own in a crowded summer box office.

Kingsley hates a lot of things

I love it. This is so randomly viral. Who is this kid?

My favorite rants are about the turn signals and birds. Also, "Listen. Bitch."

Glee: Volume 3

Glee is releasing the next volume in their soundtrack series on May 18! While they haven't listed which cast members will be singing what, they have listed them out for the guest stars.

I'm most excited for the NPH rendition of "Dream On" and Idina Menzel's renditions of "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Poker Face" (which will supposedly be a stripped down acoustic version). Also, any version of Total Eclipse of the Heart is going to be great. Doubt me? Just check out this version by William Shatner and Taiwan internet sensation:



Check out the full track listing for Glee: Volume 3:

1. Hello Goodbye
2. Gives You Hell
3. Hello
4. A House Is Not a Home
5. One Less Bell to Answer/A House Is Not A Home (Kristin Chenoweth)
6. Beautiful
7. Physical (Olivia Newton-John)
8. Total Eclipse Of The Heart (Jonathan Groff)
9. Lady Is A Tramp
10. One
11. Rose's Turn
12. Dream On (Neil Patrick Harris)
13. Safety Dance
14. I Dreamed A Dream (Idina Menzel)
15. Loser
16. Give Up The Funk
17. Beth
18. Poker Face (Idina Menzel)
19. Bad Romance

What tracks are you most excited about?

Addicted to Social Media?

• 28% of iPhone users check/update twitter before they get out of bed. 
• 48% of people check/update Facebook after they go to bed. 
• 18% of people under 25 years old can't go more than a couple hours without checking in on facebook.

This infographic is pretty eye-opening! I am definitely one of those people addicted to social media. I'm constantly on twitter and facebook, checking those on my phone as soon as I wake up and right before I go to sleep. I have not 1 but 3 different twitter applications on my desktop that I use depending on how I want to focus on twitter that day. I have this blog and I just started a blog on Tumblr as well.

Are you addicted to social media?

A Terrible Life Choice

That will hopefully be me in a couple years. I just need to figure out what I want to study and how I'm going to pay for it, but then I will be one of them.

[via ClusterFlock]

The Wizard of Dogs

[via @EWPopWatch]

Iron Man Mash-Ups

I don't know why or how this started, but please let there be more of this meme!

Iron Man meets Patrick Swayze and they have the time of their lives:


Iron Man fights Hugh Grant for Bridget Jones' love:



[via NYMag's Vulture Blog]

It's All About the Benjamins

Now, even money gets a trailer! The new $100 bill debuted today and the US Mint released a trailer to promote it and highlight what makes it stand out from the previous bills. Watch the trailer below: 



What bill should they redo next? I think our money could use a massive overhaul in general. Other countries have each bill in different colors, different textures, different sizes. These differences between bills make them more friendly for those with limited vision or that are completely blind. I never thought about these differences until I spent a semester abroad in Hong Kong, but now its something I look for every time I travel.

Iron Man 2: Cordco

Check out the latest viral video for Iron Man 2! As you've seen in the trailers, an important scene in the film centers around the Tony Stark Expo 2010. This clip shows a demonstration from Cordco, one of the many companies exhibiting at the event.

Here's what Cordco has to say about the video:

This film was recorded earlier this year at an exclusive presentation in Melbourne, Australia to demonstrate a civilian application to what has to date been exclusively military technology.

'Better living through technology' will be at the heart of the Stark Expo which Tony Stark himself opens in 21 days time from now, in New York.

Interesting stuff; I can't wait to see how it fits into the film. That new non-weaponry technology is sure to the be highlight of the Expo.

District 9's Wikus Hunts Charlize Theron

Wikus and Charlize - watch more funny videos

[via @Cinematical]

Don't Worry, I'm Yours

  Don't Worry, I'm Yours (Jason Mraz vs. Bobby McFerrin vs. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole) by DJ Dain

A fantastic mash-up of Don't Worry, Be Happy by Bobby Ferrin, I'm Yours by Jason Mraz, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole.

The Death of the Opening Credits

The Emmy Awards released their latest updates to the qualification rules. Below is the section on theme songs.

MUSIC

Effective for the 2010-2011 awards year, the Main Title Theme category will be eliminated and replaced with a new category, “Music Composition for a Nonfiction Program.”  Details about the placement of main title theme achievements are still being discussed by the Music PGEC.  This change was made due to the decreasing number or traditional television main title theme music.

To read all the rule changes, visit Deadline Hollywood.

It's official. TV show theme songs and opening credits are dead. I blame you, Lost! With your 1 note creepy opener, you showed that you didn't need 30 seconds to introduce the world of the show while simultaneously allowing the network to fit in one more commercial. And at $900,000 per 30 seconds, it proved too valuable to pass up. While Lost does it well, now everyone is doing it! Even The Vampire Diaries!

In honor of this last nail in the coffin of an art form I love, I'll be showcasing some of my favorite opening credits all week.

To kick it off, watch this iconic credit sequence from Friends.

 

The song will forever be tied to this show. The song lyrics set up exactly what this show is about - 20 somethings trying to figure life out together. The moments cut together perfectly set up their relationships with one another and conveys the tone the show. If you had never seen this show before, you would have a pretty strong understanding after this short segment, and that my friends is the beauty of the opening credits.

Insane Clown Posse: Magic & Miracles

Over the weekend I posted about my favorite SNL sketch of the night, the Outrageous Clown Squad. I had no idea this was parodying a real music video and song from the Insane Clown Posse! Watch the original ICP video below.

Most Anticipated Summer Blockbusters

Summer movie season is about to officially kick-off with the release of Iron Man 2 on May 7. Remember when summer blockbusters started on Memorial Day weekend? Every year it gets pushed up earlier and earlier. If Kick-Ass has been as big of a hit as some were projecting, that arguably could have been construed as the summer opener - on April 16! But it didn't open huge (strong, but not huge) so we'll keep it to May for now. We'll see when summer starts next year.

But, to the point! Summer blockbusters are cranking up their promotion machines and gearing up to roll out. Here are my Top 5 Most Anticipated Summer Blockbusters!

5. MacGruber
At first I thought this was going to be another disappointing SNL character that would not be able to carry a film (see: It's Pat, The Ladie's Man, A Night at the Roxbury, etc). However, the red band trailer sold me on this. Plus, it got some great buzz after it's SXSW screening. Watch the red band trailer below:

Catch MacGruber when he blasts into theaters on May 21.

4.  Inception
This isn't your typical summer blockbuster since this is being described as a "mental heist" flick. I'm not exactly sure what that means or what the movie is about, but my interest is definitely piqued given the talent attached. Christopher Nolan is directing (The Dark Knight, Memento) and Leo DiCaprio stars. Watch the trippy teaser trailer below:

Inception comes out in IMAX on July 16.

3. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
This quirky film has definitely caught my attention. Based on a graphic novel about Scott Pilgrim facing off against his new girlfriend's evil exes, the movie looks like it'll be a fun coming-of-age story wrapped in the comic graphics and villainous fights.

Scott Pilgrim fights his way into theaters August 13.

2. Iron Man 2
It was tough for me to pick which movie would get the top spot on my list. I think this one gets #2 only because I don't have to wait as long for it. The anticipation isn't as strong since we're only a couple weeks away now. I loved the first one, and have so far loved the trailers and feel of where the 2nd one is going. I'm hoping this lives up to the hype.

Iron Man 2 comes out on May 7 in IMAX.

1. Toy Story 3
I've been waiting for this film for 10 years and didn't even know it. I love the Toy Story films and will always hold a special place in my heart for anything Disney/Pixar. I was lucky enough to see an extended clip when I was at D23 (aka Disney Con) and have been eagerly waiting for the chance to see the whole film in glorious 3D.

TS3 will be in theaters, IMAX and 3D, on June 18.

Looking back, I feel like I covered all the bases on this one. There's comedy, comic book/superhero, comic book/wannabe superhero, and family fare. Seems like a pretty well rounded summer to me!

Also, here are a few more summer movies I'll definitely be checking out. They just aren't quite the cream of the crop:

• Prince of Persia
• The People vs. George Lucas
• Jonah Hex
• The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
• The Sorcerer's Apprentice
• Salt
• Step Up 3D

Music Monday: In the Sun by She & Him

Broadview Security

On the latest SNL, one of the early sketches made fun of Broadview Security's overdramatic commericals. The jokes rang a little too familiar for me. Check out the SNL clip and then the Target Women segment that ran months ago below it. Sarah Haskins did it first and I think she did it best.

Saturday Night Live


infoMania


Which sketch do you think is funnier?

SNL Highlights: Ryan Phillippe

After such a strong SNL last week with Tina Fey, any host would have had a tough job to live up to. But this episode suffered from its lackluster writing and a stiff host. Plus, with Ryan Phillippe hosting and Will Forte still in the cast, why wasn't there a MacGruber skit to promote the movie coming out May 21? It just seems like it should have been an obvious choice! While I didn't find much of the show worthy of video embeds, here's the highlights from last night's show.

Shake Weight

The shake weight itself is just such an easy target. The jokes pretty much write themselves.

And the best skit of the night was the very last bit: Outrageous Clown Squad

"Like what's with Islands? Get more land! What's with deserts? Get less sand!"
"Are children small or just far away?"

Also, Ke$ha was the musical guest this week and she brought her own brand of crazy to the party. I'm not a fan of her at all, she's like a dumbed down version of Lady Gaga. She's trying to be edgy and performance art-y, but without the knowledge or talent to really pull it off. Check out this train wreck performance from last night:



Did I leave out your favorite sketch from the night? Let me know in the comments!

100 Movies to See Before You Die: The Modern Classics

Yahoo! Movies listed out the best modern classics that you need to watch. I've listed them out below and highlighted the ones I've seen. I'm surprised how many are foreign films. To read the reasonings for why these films made the list, check out the original article on Yahoo.

1990
Goodfellas
Misery

1991
Beauty and the Beast
The Silence of the Lambs
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Thelma & Louise

1992
Hard Boiled (Lat sau san taam)
Malcolm X
The Player
Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)
Supercop (Ging chat goo si 3: Chiu kup ging chat)
Unforgiven

1993
Dazed and Confused
Groundhog Day
Schindler's List

1994
Chungking Express (Chung Hing sam lam)
Ed Wood
Forrest Gump
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Pulp Fiction
The Shawshank Redemption
Red (Trois couleurs: Rouge)

1995
Babe
Before Sunrise
Clueless
Heat
Living in Oblivion
Sense and Sensibility
Toy Story
The Usual Suspects

1996
Big Night
Dead Man
Fargo
Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai)
Lone Star
Scream
Secrets & Lies
Sling Blade
Swingers
Trainspotting


1997
Boogie Nights
Eve's Bayou
L.A. Confidential
The Sweet Hearafter
Titanic

1998
The Big Lebowski
Fireworks (Hana-bi)
Out of Sight
Saving Private Ryan
There's Something About Mary


1999
All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre)
American Beauty
Being John Malkovich
Election
Fight Club
The Matrix
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime)
Run Lola Run (Lola rennt)
The Sixth Sense
Three Kings

2000
Almost Famous
Best in Show
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long)
Yi Yi

2001
Amelie (Le fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain)
Donnie Darko
In the Mood For Love (Fa yeung nin wa)
The Lord of the Rings
Memento
Mulholland Drive
The Royal Tenenbaums

2002
The Pianist
Y Tu Mama Tambien

2003
City of God (Cidade de Deus)
Elephant
Finding Nemo

2004
Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Shaun of the Dead
Sideways

2005
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
Brokeback Mountain
A History of Violence
Oldboy

2006
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Children of Men
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Anderen)
Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno)

2007
4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile)
The Bourne Ultimatum
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillon)
Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood

2008
The Dark Knight
Slumdog Millionaire
WALL-E

2009
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds

Glee in 60 Seconds

[via @Mashable]

Jimmy Fallon: Road to Sectionals

Jimmy Fallon brings back is 6-bee Glee riff and this time the cast of Parks & Rec are the competition.

Linkulous: Quarterlife Crisis, Syfy Wrestles, Tina Fey and more!

Welcome to Your Quarterlife Crisis - All my recently graduated friends should read this.

Syfy bodyslams brand, picks up WWE's Friday Night Smackdown - while this move may make sense viewer wise, it's the strangest programming news I've heard in a while. Wrestling is not science fiction, plus it requires Syfy to move their tried and tested Friday night programming to accommodate it. Syfy is known for its Friday nights, having previously hosted Stargate, BSG, and now Caprica.

Do You Have an Abusive Relationship with Pop Culture?

The Tina Fey Backlash - she's taking flack for some of her SNL sketches.

Tina Fey is a master at playing a real mess - counter point.

Right-Wing Hysteria Watch: Is "Glee" part of Hollywood's leftist propaganda machine?

Evil Dead in 60 Seconds

Evil Dead done in 60 seconds with CLAY - 2010 from Lee Hardcastle on Vimeo.

[via Film School Rejects]

ABDC: Champions for Charity

The first time all 5 champions are on stage together! Every charity represented gets a $10,000 check to help the charities grow.

Opening Number:
It's awesome to see all the champions dancing together on one stage. The group numbers during the season sometimes suffer from the weaker crews and the varying styles, but this blended really well and served to introduce each crew as a distinctive unit and as champions.



Poreotix: They just won last week, but they have already found a teen to spotlight and help in charity work. Every Body Dance Now gives free hip hop classes to lower income kids and was founded by Jackie when she was just 14. 
Alvin and the Chipmunks themed routine? I guess the routines have to be related to the charities they are representing, so they had a "kids challenge." They had a great tutting section and again, they just look like they're having so much fun while pulling off such in sync moves. Best line from the judges: "You guys have a lot of nuts" - JC. Also, I love that the check read "that's right dawg, 10 Gs."

We Are Heroes: They are representing a charity for people with disabilities, The Sparkle Effect. It's a special needs cheer squad, so girls who normally wouldn't be able to cheer are not part of this special community.
They of course get a girl power routine and decided to go superhero/toy themed. The splits were impressive. They had great energy and really sparkled (ha!).

Quest: I'm really impressed with the kid that made this film to inspire young black men to strive to do better in their studies rather than just banking on rapping or sports.
They had a film challenge and opened it with a great spinning move shot in the style of old film footage. They are by far my favorite routine so far. They did a great broadway inspired hip hop routine that was filled with personality and energy. Some of my favorite moments were D-Trix's spinning, the crew linked together while two members jumped simultaneously through towards the camera, and the tutting section is always strong with this crew.

SuperCr3w: They're dancing for the POW! (Prevention on Wheels) charity that is run by a young woman that is HIV positive herself.
They are so athletic, it's ridiculous! They had a great flip where one guy pushed off the back of another, standing crew member. OH MY GOODNESS I LOVE THAT LITTLE KID. Jaylen stole the show and was absolutely amazing! He did windmills, head spins, flips, flares, this kid did everything! Who is this kid? Is he the kid of one of the crew members? A younger brother? That is the next generation of ABDC right there.

The Jabbawockeez: They're dancing for Less Than Four, an amputee charity run by a cancer survivor and Special Olympics Athlete.
The Final Countdown! I love it already. They move so well together, it's barely human. It's just insane. I don't even know how to describe what they do because it is so original. They're a popping and isolation crew just like Poreotix, but they could not have more different feels and personalities. They both dance in the same genre, but their routines are so different and distinctive. Seeing this makes me even more excited to see their show in Vegas!

Since there's no winner for the episode, except for obviously the charities and causes they fight for, below are my rankings on the routines.

1. Quest Crew
2. Jabbawockeez
3. Super Cr3w
4. Poreotix
5. We Are Heroes

What a great episode and for great causes. I really like this idea and hopefully So You Think You Can Dance will do something similar.

What is a blooper?

This moment on a recent episode of Jeopardy:



I'm sure Alex Trebeck was a real wild child back in the day.

Heart Break-Up from Phillip Chbeeb (featuring Justin Bieber)

[via @PhillipChbeeb]

Alyssa Milano on Jimmy Kimmel

Alyssa stops by the late night show to teach Jimmy Kimmel just what the heck this twitter thing is all about.

TODAY: Free Coffee

REMINDER: FREE COFFEE TODAY!

In an eco-friendly move, Starbucks is giving out free coffee! Bring in a reusable travel mug on April 15 (TODAY) and get free brewed coffee from your local starbucks.

No coupon necessary. For more information, visit The Big Picture homepage.

Modern Family: Sneak Peak

Tonight is a new episode of Modern Family! Check out the preview clip to see how Mitchell is dealing with being unemployed.



Don't forget to tune in tonight at 9pm EST/PST on ABC!

Glee: Vogue

Glee is back! Oh, how I missed it these past 5 songless months. Last night was a great episode that introduced a slew of new love potentials, gave Brittany/Santana some great moments, and explained Sue's abrupt return in a way better than I could have imagined.

There were some great musical moments, all surrounding the theme of "hello" (except for Rachel's big F-U moment to Finn after breaking her heart). Below is my favorite musical number of the night.



Also, check out this clip from next week's Madonna themed episode. Sue Sylvester in Vogue:


I'm really interested to see how this fits within the story.

Delayed Music Monday: In My Head by Jason Derulo

I'm a little late for Music Monday, but this song is worth a mention since it's been stuck in my head for a week.

Glee Returns Tonight!

Check out this flash mob and then read my favorite Sue quotes below.



While this flash mob is very similar to the flash mob that was done in Italy for their premiere, I still love it.

In honor of tonight's return, airing on FOX at 9:28pm EST/PST after American Idol, here are my top 10 Sue Sylvester quotes, in no particular order.

1. I will go to the animal shelter and get you a kitty cat. I will let you fall in love with that kitty cat. And then on some dark, cold night I will steal away into your home and punch you in the face! 
2. Get ready for the ride of your life Will Schuester. You're about to board the Sue Sylvester Express. Destination horror!
3. You'll be adding revenge to the long list of things you're no good at, right next to being married, running a high school glee club and finding a hairstyle that doesn't look like a lesbian.
4. You're too busy chasing tail and loading your hail with enormous amounts of product. Today, it just looks like you put lard in it.
5. While they were in there, I told them to go ahead and yank out those tear ducts. Wasn't using them.
6. If I have a pregnant girl doing a handspring into a double layout, the judges aren't going to be admiring her impeccable form, they're going to be wondering if the centrifugal force is going to make the baby's head start crowning.
7. You're dealing with children. They need to be terrified. It's like mother's milk to them.
8. When I heard Sandy wanted to write himself into a scene as Queen Cleopatra, I was aroused. And then furious.
9. Caning works! And I think it's about time we did a little more of it right here... yes, we cane!
10. That was the most offensive thing I've seen in 20 years of teaching — and that includes an elementary school production of Hair.

Did I leave your favorite out? Tell me your favorite Sue line in the comments!

Iron Man 2: Interactive Trailer

While this is the same trailer I've watched dozens of times, the interactivity makes it seem brand new! The hot spots that pop up as you watch the trailer allow you to access more information on certain characters and sets.

My favorite extras include the behind-the-scenes clip about The Race Track and filming Whiplash's premiere. There are also some great production stills that I hadn't seen before. Watch the trailer and let me know what you think! Word of warning, I found it best to click on the hot spots as they showed up. I tried to go back to some after the trailer had finishing running and they didn't run as smoothly.

[via Film School Rejects]

Monday Cuteness

Here's a dose of puppies to help you get through the last leg of your Monday.

Vampire Reunion

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

[via College Humor]

Me Want Cookies!

These Cookie Monster cupcakes are adorable!

[via Al Dente Blog]

Barbie Gets Her Geek On

I missed the viral campaigning for this, probably because I don't focus on computer engineering/technician blogs in my time online, but I'm so glad to see Barbie becoming a more modern woman. I remember playing with Barbie as a little girl. I would cut her hair and have her be a mom or a teacher, very traditionally female roles. While she's just a toy, this is still a step forward in feminism and getting young girls into male dominated professions like computer science jobs.

For more information about the vote and Barbie's previous professions, read the original Wall Street Journal article.

SNL Highlights: Tina Fey

Tina Fey was back on SNL last night to promote her latest movie "Date Night," which just opened this weekend. As an SNL vet, she turned in a solid performance, which is to be expected. Check out some of my favorite moments from the episode below.

Opening Monologue

I loved that Justin Bieber was one of the babies in Baby Mama. Also, damn does Tina Fey have boobs in that dress! Great cameos by Mark Sanchez (as her husband!) and Steve Martin.

Brownie Husband


The Masters

The best quotes: "If Asians and Indians can complete with Black People, it's not a sport."
"Let's take a look at the hole with our aerial camera." "That's what Tiger said!"

Justin Bieber is Hot for Teacher

This was my favorite skit of the night. I'm not a big fan of Justin Bieber (especially compared to his twitter army), but he was great in this.

Weekend Update: Women's News


Some other skits I enjoyed were the Sarah Palin Network (I would totally watch "Fat Cats") and Al Roker's Ruff, Rugged, and Roker. I didn't like that skit at first, but once he halts the party to do the morning weather, it all came together. 

What did you think of last night's episode of Saturday Night Live?

Pilot: No Ordinary Family

One of the new shows slated for fall that I'm most interested in is "No Ordinary Family" on ABC. What can I say? I'm a sucker for superheroes. The show is about your average American family, but with one hitch - they all develop superpowers.

Normally, this would not be enough to get me interested, but it's written by Greg Berlanti. He created "Everwood," one my favorite WB shows. That show provided such a balanced and emotionally resonant look at a family and common teen problems that still holds up today. So many shows don't know how to handle the teen storyline in an adult show - just look at "V" and how they handle Tyler - that when it's done well it truly stands out.







For more information on the show, check out this interview with Marc Guggenheim, Executive Producer of "No Ordinary Family."

The Tale of the Lost Toys

I love when trailers play with genre stereotypes and switch things up!

Also, if you're a college student (or a recent grad who still passes for a college student and you can dig up your old university ID card), you have the chance to see most of the film early. Pixar is organizing Cliffhanger Screenings. You can watch the first 65 minutes of the film, for free! I guess it'll be good to build buzz and get people talking about the movie, but I have no interest in seeing Toy Story 3 at one of these "cliffhanger" screenings only to have to sit through the first 65 minutes again when I have to scrounge up the $15 to see it in 3D when it comes out. But hey, it's your prerogative.