While everyone lists the things they're thankful for in terms of family, friends, loved ones, life experiences and all that mumbo jumbo, I need to send out a few thanks for the pop culture, TV, and movie related things that helped make this year awesome.
1. Superhero Movies
I am so glad this trend is still going strong. Even with a couple duds like THE GREEN LANTERN, they're producing some great ones like CAPTAIN AMERICA. Plus, I'm so excited for the upcoming AVENGERS!
2. Revenge
My favorite of the new shows, it's definitely been keeping me on my toes! While the first few episodes were a little formulaic with a "revenge-a-week," it's become more interesting and wrenches get thrown in Emily's plans.
3. Netflix Instant
While Netflix has had a less than stellar year, I'm still thankful for the access to movies and TV at my fingertips. The fact that I've been able to catch up on Parks & Recreation while at the gym still blows my mind. Not to mention the recent announcement that when (if?) Arrested Development comes back, it'll be available exclusively on Netflix. Technology is amazing!
4. The Vampire Diaries
While I haven't been recapping this season, it's still one of the best shows on television! The plot moves at a breakneck pace, and even the exposition/mythology explaining episodes are handled deftly and are engaging.
6. Saturday Night Live
This season has been fantastic, with a great list of hosts and musical guests. Plus, they gave us this gem:
7. Get Out of There Cat
LOLcats may be a little played out by now, but cats being where they don't belong? Love it!
8. DisneyBound
I love Disney, I'm starting to get in to fashion a bit more, and this is the perfect blend of both. Girly, geeky, and cute - right up my alley!
9. YOU
Of course, I'm thankful for my readers! I love interacting with everyone in the comments, on the Facebook page, and on Twitter. Thanks so much for reading and watching what I post. I really, truly appreciate every one of you and am glad others enjoy Pop Culture like random viral videos and memes, TV and films as much as I do. :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! What pop culture things are you thankful for this year?
I did the ABC's of movies earlier, and me being a huge TV fan I knew I had to do this for the gems of the small screen. I feel like this list was even harder than the film one, since so many shows are close to my heart. While some letters had weak competition (allowing the newbie show NIKITA to take the letter N), there were a number of letters that were stacked. FRIENDS vs. FIREFLY vs. FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS vs. FREAKS AND GEEKS? ANGEL vs. ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT? Shows that are all so different, but so strong in their own way. Any glaring omissions? Let me know in the comments!
There's a meme going around the movie blogosphere, posting your ABCs of Cinema. You can check out other movie blogger's lists on CitizenRobot, I Are Movies, and Rupert Pupkin Speaks. One favorite movie for every letter of the alphabet. I'm not saying it's the best for that letter, it's just my personal choice either for entertainment value, lasting impression, rewatchability, etc. Don't agree with my movie choices? Make your own list and put the link in the comments! I really want to know!
SNL wrapped it's season last week with another mediocre episode, hosted by Alec Baldwin with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. While the season definitely had a lot of lows, there were some great sketches hidden in the rough. Below are my top 5 moments from the 2009-2010 season.
5. Betty White's Muffin
4. Love Connection
3. Killer Klownz
2. Hamm and Buble
1. Hot for Teacher
Honorable Mention:
Andy Samberg and Reba
Did I leave off your favorite sketch? Let me know in the comments!
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.
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:
As I'm sure you could have figured out from previous posts, I'm a big Chuck fan. If this week weren't so packed with real world deadlines and such, this would be my own personal Chuck week. Over the holiday break, KT and I watched most of season 2 thanks to hulu.com and it just reignited my love even more. I had seen it before, but KT had only seen a few snippets here and there so didn't know much of it before. Season 1 of Chuck was fun, but season 2 knew exactly what it was doing and did it well the entire time. This is one of the few shows that actually excelled after the Writers Strike. It seems like the the writers took that time and thought about the show and what they wanted to do. So, what I've been getting at, is that I love Chuck and so should you. Here are my Top 10 reasons to watch the show:
1. The nerd humor.
The 2000s is the time of the geek. With all the superhero films, comic book franchises, and such, the geeks have inherited to the earth. If you like Big Bang Theory, which many people do given that it's one of the most watched sitcoms on air right now, you'll love Chuck. It takes the nerd humor, and seamlessly blends it with that action hero vibe that geeks stereotypically can't attain.
2. The soundtrack.
Last season, Chuck used 80's classics perfectly matched to the situations on screen. From Chuck vs. Tom Sawyer, where Rush was the music of the gods to unlock the Kill Screen, to the wedding performance by Jeffster, I know no other show that makes music such a huge support to the plot. The songs aren't just background, they're a major part of what sets the mood, atmosphere, and sometimes plot of the show.
3. The romance.
Every good show needs a couple to root for. In addition to the Chuck/Sarah will they/won't they, we get see a healthy, constant relationship like Captain Awesome and Ellie. They have their fights and their make ups, and they just seem so real. This gives the show something most others don't - a stable relationship that isn't used to play for laughs. We don't laugh at the married man tied down, we see their relationship mature like one would in real life.
Now, the romance more of the fandom cares about: Chuck/Sarah aka Charah. The co-workers who have a forbidden love, of sorts. Zachary Levi and Yvonne have such great chemistry! In the beginning, Chuck pines for Sarah like a cute puppy. But eventually, you see her start to care for him more than the job allows. I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't seen it, but I'm very interested to see what direction season 3 takes.
4. The bromance.
Chuck and Morgan have a great bromance but the real bromantic highlight are Jeff and Lester. They have no one else to rely on and you can tell that they are the loves of each others lives. The invention of Jeffster may just be my favorite part of the show. They must be a favorite among many fans though, since they opened the Comic Con panel this year with a rockin' performance.
5. The guest stars.
Last season they brought some great actors back to television. Scott Bakula played Chuck's dad so well, and they even look alike! And to go along with stars from years past making a comeback, Chevy Chase was a genius villian. Chuck could be credited with why both these actors have their own shows this season - Community and Men of a Certain Age. I'm excited to see how they incorporate Brandon Routh (Superman!) and Kristen Kreuk (Lana Lane!) in Season 3.
6. Casey.
A big reason why I checked out the show to begin with was because of the cast and crew on board. And by cast and crew, I mean Josh Schwartz (creator of The OC) and Adam Baldwin (Jayne from Firefly). On that show, Adam Baldwin was the silent mercenary and you weren't sure what side he was on. On Chuck, he's very similar but I think he's allowed to show his deadpan humor more. Casey is such a badass - in season 2 alone he lost a toe, broke his thumb, and nearly died. We'll see what other hijinks he and the rest of the team get into this season.
7. Captain Awesome.
What started as a one note joke turned in to a great secondary character. Captain Awesome became the go-to guy for real life advice and has become more integral to plot. He's also really easy on the eyes. Plus, the end of season 2 promised that he would become even more important!
8. The action/stunts.
The fighting scenes are so exciting and well put together. They also work in tandem with #2 - the soundtrack. Just watch this great clip of Sarah fighting Nicole Ritchie fighting to "Smack My Bitch Up":
9. The Buy Morons.
Chuck thrives because of its depth in all the secondary characters. The Buy More consists of a group of crazy characters, but they're not one note shells used just for laughs. They are each distinctive personalities and all of their crazy antics fall within the realm of believability for the characters. I don't know how much of a part of it they'll be in Season 3 given how Season 2 ended, but I hope they'll find someway to incorporate them.
10. The opening credits.
I'm a big advocate for opening credits. It's a dying art, since the popularity of Lost's mysterious black screen. I'm sure it also allows for more advertising time, too. Well, I think opening credits are a vital part of a show - setting the tone for the show while providing a bit of backstory.
You can catch a marathon of the "must see" episodes on SyFy tomorrow or watch the end of season 2 on hulu.com. The season premiere is this Sunday on NBC at 8 pm ET/PT, then the next episodes are on at the normal time on Mondays at 8 pm.
How to Discover Your Lifes Purpose - good for my fellow recent grads. I'm still figuring out this whole post-grad life, so I thought maybe others were too.
TV's Best of the Decade: No. 25 - I was a huge fan of this show when it started, but fled during the lows of the 2nd season. Sounds like I need to add Season 4 to the netflix queue. Also, you should check out the rest of his picks. He's posting one a day, so they're not all up yet. But I agree with most of his picks so far, and he may have finally converted me to appreciating It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, a show I just really can't get behind.
Nielson's Top 10 Rated Shows of 2009 - Very happy with the time shifted list! I love about half the shows on there. Too bad 3 of them were cancelled/wrapped up this season.
I think I've left you with enough to chew on to get you through the weekend. Have a great weekend!
Glee is heading to sectionals tomorrow and then leaving us for FOUR MONTHS. I don't know how I'm going to handle that long of an hiatus! To help me get through this, I've been watching some of the best musical numbers from the season, all up on Hulu's Glee: A Dozen Musical Numbers page. Don't have time for all 12 before they expire? Well, here are my Top 5 numbers leading up to sectionals:
1. "It's My Life/Confessions"
I loved both the mashups in "Vitamin D", but the guys totally won this one. The best songs are the show are when the glee kids take a song and rearrange it. Otherwise, it's too similar to the original and just will never stand out in my mind. Give songs the "Glee" treatment and I'm there! Just sing a song exactly the same old way and I get bored fast.
2. "Lean on Me"
I'm a sucker for the sappy songs too. I almost put "Keep Holding On" here too, but then that would have been two Glee-cheers-up-Quinn-and-Finn moments and this list needed diversity. For
3. "Don't Stop Believing"
This was the routine that made Will believe New Directions could win Regionals and it was the routine that won over the viewers too. This number was strong enough to keep us on bated breath for the show's return 5 months after they aired the pilot in May. Let's hope they leave us with just as great a number tomorrow in the Fall Finale. I still can't believe we have to wait until APRIL.
4. "Hate on Me"
Mercedes can siiiiing. This was the first time she got her own song and it was great. She's usually just the diva-tastic cherry on top to the glee numbers, so this was a nice change of pace.
5. "Dancing With Myself"
Another great moment where a secondary character got to shine. I think Artie has the best voice out of the guys, so it was great that he finally got his solo. I also love when the songs are used to serve a storytelling purpose, instead of just shoe-horned in to have a musical number. This song was a great window into his loneliness as the handicapped friend, and transitioned Artie from an afterthought to a full character.
Last night was the So You Think You Can Dance clip show to prep up the new season. Nigel listed off his top 15 routines, and his absolute favorite so it was really at top 16. A while back, KT and I created our list of our favorite 10 routines. Here's Nigel's list, with some of my thoughts:
Destiny/Jamille - Shane Sparks hip hop (Season 1)
Blake/Melody - Tyce Diorio Broadway to "All that Jazz" (Season 1)
Benji/Heidi - Mary Murphy Ballroom to "Black mambo" (Season 2) I wish Mary would choreograph more! I hadn't seen this routine before and really enjoyed it.
Ivan/Allison - Tyce Diorio Contemporary (Season 2) This was one of the favorites of season 2. I haven't seen all the routines, but this stood out on this list for me.
Travis/Heidi - Mia Michaels Bench Routine (Season 2)
Hok/Jamie - Wade Robson Hummingbird (Season 3)
Sabra/Neil Mandy Moore Jazz to "Sweet Dreams" (Season 3) This is one of my favorites from season 3, it's easy to see why Sabra came out on top this season.
Lacey/Danny - Dmitri Samba to "Hip Hip Chin Chin" (Season 3) The only other Samba I've enjoyed this much was Kayla/Max in the Top 20 from season 5.
Lauren/Pascha - Shane Sparks Hip Hop to "Transformers" (Season 3) I didn't know Shane Sparks was nominated for an Emmy! Great routine and I loved the lighting and costumes.
Courtney/Mark Sonya Jazz to "The Garden"(Season 4) - This is tied for 1st in book. Sonya entered the show with a bang, one of my favorite routines of the show. I hope she can reach that level again in season 6.
Chelsie/Mark Nappy Tabs Hip Hop to "Bleeding Love" (Season 4)
Katee/Josh - Mia Michaels Contemporary to "Home Town Glory" (Season 4) I'm glad this dance is finally getting some recognition. That assisted run literally made my jaw drop when I saw it for the first time.
Branden/Jeanette - Doriana Disco (Season 5) This marks when Disco no longer became the dance of death. Loved it!
Kayla/Kupono - Mia Michaels Addiction (Season 5) Beautiful, meaningful number.
Jeanine/Jason - Travis Wall Contemporary to "If it Kills Me" (Season 5) This is my other #1. I've lost count of how many times I've watched this routine thanks to youtube and DVR.
Nigel's favorite: Ade/Melissa - Tyce Diorio Contemporary to "This Womans Work" aka The Cancer Dance. I know how much this affected so many people, but this is an emotional number, not really a dance number. I feel like all the praise and love that the judges have poured onto this number are just going to create a backlash. It probably already has.
What did you guys think of list? Any of your favorites left off? Personally, I can't believe Twitch wasn't in any of the routines listed. He was a favorite on the show and was a part of many memorable numbers.
Note: I'm leaving for Las Vegas in the morning. So no updates for a few days. Please feel free to check around my older posts. See you guys next week!
It's been 10 years since 1999. It is a year that will be remembered for the Y2K scare and the Columbine shootings, a time of upheaval and everyone on the brink of panic. Or at least some of the extremes. The films of the time definitely reflected the era, with The Matrix and American Beauty among the top earners of the year. But this year is more remembered for the films that didn't break the box office records, for the movies that had real staying power and still feel relevant today. Here's my list of the Top Ten films from 1999. It's totally subjective and in no particular order:
Fight Club
This movie is among my favorites of all time. The look of the film, the voice over narration done perfectly by Edward Norton, and the big twist at the end, this movie's got it all. It reflected the apocalyptic feel of 1999 and the anti-consumerism sentiment that was prevalent since the mad spending of the 1980s.
Toy Story 2
Pixar was still new at this point and didn't have the audiences guaranteed. They deserve every single one of their fans, myself included. The film follows the story of childhood lost, teaching us to hold on to what we have when we have it, and just appreciate it while it lasts. There's nothing better in life than making people happy, and Pixar does that with every film they make.
Election
It's hard to believe MTV used to make quality content like this. The story of Tracy Flick is still relevant today - just look at Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin. Women in power, and how they got there, hold the attention of America because it is still a rarity (sadly). Plus, this is the film that broke Reese Witherspoon into Hollywood, and she has continued to prove her acting chops since.
The Sixth Sense
M. Night Shamalyan has never been able to live up to the quality of this film. Seeing this movie for the first time, I was so terrified while watching it. It's a good horror story without being about blood and gore. The ending will live in film history as one of the best twists.
10 Things I Hate About You
It's kind of sad to watch now, since Heath Ledger's untimely passing, but it's still one of my favorite teen flicks. It took Shakespeare and made it hip and relatable, by being barely recognizable. But still, a great movie with a talented cast that went on to play other great roles: Heath Ledger, Joseph Gordan-Lovitt, and Julia Stiles. Plus, it has one of my favorite film moments in it:
Dogma
My favorite of Kevin Smith films (followed closely by Mallrats), follows two fallen angels as they try to get back into God's good graces. The cast is hilarious, as they are in every other Kevin Smith movie, but they way this film skewers religion while not insulting it and its followers is something more movies should learn. Also, the casting of God was a stroke of genius.
Galaxy Quest
As a Star Trek fan since the womb, I know a thing or two about sci fi shows and conventions. This lovingly mocks the whole world, but doesn't do it maliciously. It's funny and snarky, without being mean. For anyone who's even touched upon the sci fi lifestyle, I recommend watching this movie for a laugh.
The Matrix
What can I say about this movie? It changed the entire way action scenes were shot! It had great action, a mind bending plot, and was perfectly cast with Keanu Reeves. He does that confused thing so well. This movie stands the test of time, yet still reflects the sentiment of 1999. Just ignore the sequels, and we've got ourselves a new classic.
October Sky
This is the movie that made me fall in love with Jake Gyllenhaal. It's an inspirational tale, based on a true story of course, about 4 small town boys who use science and rocket building to escape their small coal mining town. They did it without proper help from their school, with just their own motivation to keep them chugging along.
Office Space
Everyone loves this movie. It may not have been a box office smash, but everyone I know has seen it and likely owns the dvd. I couldn't appreciate this movie when it came out, but now that I'm in the working world, I can definitely see more of its appeal. It's a hilarious film about surviving the office.
Did I leave off any of your 1999 favorites? What do you think of these ten films?
Over at Entertainment Weekly, they ran through their top 15 dance performances from all of So You Think You Can Dance's five seasons. While I haven't watched all five seasons, I still feel that this list left off many of my favorites, particularly from Seasons 4 and 5. You can check out their list here.
Here's KT's and my list. His thoughts are italicized.
10. Twitchington Krump
Mary said this was the first time she believed in the krump number. Twitch started it off with crazy knee spin, Kherington kept up with him in impresssive fashion. A great number filled wth energy that these two knocked out the park. I never thought Kherington could pull it off, but she and Twitch just brought it and I really understood the meaning of Buck in this dance. Hopefully Season 6 brings back Krump, because it was sadly left out of this past season.
9. Hok and Jamie Jazz
I’ll be the 1st to admit that I’m biased towards the hip hop dancers on this show. I find them more entertaining, flashier, and they usually have the best personalities. More importantly, I always enjoy the dances where the hip hoppers grow out of their b-boy cocoon, and blossom into great dancers. This was Hok’s coming out party, and the Emmy was certainly deserved.
8. This one is a toss up for us. So we're calling it a tie! Brandon and Janette Disco
Disco used to be a "dance of death" and this season totally turned that around! This routine was fast, fun, and filled with jawdropping moments like Janette's flips and where Brandon holds and spins her by just her neck.
and Brandon and Kayla Disco
This routine is up their with Josh and Twitch trepak as far as amount of movement and how tired looking it as. Doriana's disco routines this season were fast and furious and so entertaining!
7. Jason and Kayla Hip Hop
This was my favorite hip hop number of the season and it was great to see Shane Sparks back on SYTYCD! While his earlier routines in season 5 faltered, he finally had the dancers who could pull off his hard hitting moves. I love NappyTabs, but this was a nice breath of fresh air after seeing so many of their routines in the past 2 seasons.
6. Twitch and Josh- Russian Trepak
I remember when I first found out that these two brilliant hip hoppers were performing a Russian trepak instead of a hard hitting hip hop battle, I was absolutely shocked. As the dance went on, I understood why. An incredible entertaining dance, these two went back and forth in what is by far the best same sex dance to date on this show.
5. Melissa and Ade- Contemporary
Without question the most emotional dance ever on the show, this made everyone in the world cry it seemed. An incredible display of how truly powerful dance can be. The reason this number isn’t higher is the fact that this was mainly about the choreography and story, and the dancers didn’t (couldn’t really) make it their own, like the rest do. This will always be remembered as Tyce’s incredible cancer routine, not Melissa and Ade’s amazing contemporary piece.
4. Courtney and Mark Jazz
This was Sonya's first time choreographing for the show, and she certainly left her mark! Her style is so distinctive and Courtney/Mark were the best couple to pull this off - him with his quirkyness and her with her sex appeal while still being kind of cutesy. Not to mention, it's set to a song that I became completely obsessed with.
3.Twitchinton- Viennese Waltz
Twitch was by far my favorite dancer ever on this shows existence, and this dance is what really started it for me. I mentioned earlier that I love the dances where hip hoppers break their shell, and this is the best example of that. Twitch was amazing in this routine, and it started his run to the finale. Not to be lost, an incredible story by the choreographer, combined with perfect costume, song and lighting. My personal favorite dance ever.
2. Jason and Jeanine Contemporary
This dance gives me chills. Travis choreographed a great piece and they danced it with such emotion and passion that this dance just moves me. This was the dance that put Jeanine over the top for me, and made me sad when Jason left.
1. Mark and Chelsie Hip Hop
Perfection. Its what everyone strives for yet rarely if ever is able to attain. This dance is about as close to perfection as you can get. A great story, great choreography with not a single dull moment, and two great dancers turned actors in this gut wrenchingly beautiful piece. If this dance does not win the Emmy this year, I will be shocked.
Honorable Mention for favorite group number: Rama Lama!
