The Conclusion

For the past three months I've been pushing hard for everyone I know to watch Jersey Shore. Number of converts? Three, maybe two. My friends don't listen to me, what else is new? So this is my attempt to use a public forum to tell people why they need to watch it. I mean, since it's already over and only in reruns, or in this soon to be released DVD set (which I'll obviously be getting), it's the perfect time to get everyone on board. And more...

No Thank You

Listening to: Passion Pit, "Sleepyhead." Whiny, annoying, catchy, and uplifting at the same time. You'll miss it five minutes after you just heard it.I discovered Jancee Dunn last year and can't believe I haven't shared her with the world yet. She's a former MTV VJ, ex-Rolling Stone journalist, and a hilarious memoir writer. I randomly picked up "But Enough About Me" at Housing Works in SoHo over the summer, read just one page, fell in love with...

Fox Force Five

Listening to: Phoenix, "Girlfriend."I could go on and on about why I love each of these blogs. But I think if you just go ahead and RSS them and read them you'll love them too. I don't have the words to eloquently explain why I dig these blogs so I'd better let them tell it. Some of them are long time favorites, some of them I've only recently found, but all of them I'm addicted to and wished they posted every second of the day. So this is like...

The Book of Eli (2010)

Part two of our hopping experience, it was either this, Daybreakers, or Avatar again. Despite being entertaining most of the way through, I think we would have gladly traded in both Lovely Bones and Book of Eli for another Avatar viewing. Denzel Washington, Mila Kunis, and Gary Oldman are appealing and fit their roles nicely (although Kunis can't quite pull off bad ass and really needs to find her non-romantic lead niche fast to secure her future)....

The Lovely Bones (2009)

I only read some of the book because something about the ubiquitousness of the light blue cover turned me off. Well now I know exactly what it's about and I feel the need to read it. A girl is murdered and the hunt is on to figure out who did it. Of course, the movie turns down a lot of the pathos from the book and the whole thing becomes a sort of spiritual whodunit. I've decided Peter Jackson is not a good director. I watched Heavenly Creatures,...

Get Smart

Listening to: Discovery, "Carby." My friend who gave this to me said it's "R&B for hipsters." I'm not sure what that means but this isn't like any R&B I recognize. After some researching, it turns out Discovery is a side project for some members of Vampire Weekend and Ra Ra Riot. Since I don't who either of those bands are, I guess I'm like way outside hipster-dom. For good or for evil.So I'm back in school. Yes, I figured since I'm...

Up In the Air (2009)

Well crafted, nicely shot, starring likable actors and actresses, and getting lots of pre-Oscar buzz. There's a whole lot to like about Up In the Air but I'll tell you now, it's shaping up to be the Crash of 2010. Maybe I'm way too biased because it's entirely too hopeful for me and I hate the message it gives, which is essentially: "lonely person must find others to find happiness." After an amusing and strong beginning where we see George Clooney's...

Visual Acoustics (2009)

Last year I saw "The Cool School," a documentary about the LA modern art scene. A nice complementary piece could have been Visual Acoustics, subtitled "The Modernisms of Julius Shulman." Shulman's an architectural photographer and his work has been highly influential and you've probably seen his photos even if you didn't recognize his name, which I didn't. Many of the architects he worked with I was familiar with though: Netra, Koenig, Lautner,...