The Pop Culture Addict’s Blog

I just discovered the joy and obsession of sudoku. I know, where have I been the past 2 years? It took a fellow PCA asking me how it was done for me to realize I had never learned the rules properly and thus never understood why so many people were hooked on it. Her question made me look up the rules and it was a show-stopper for me. I thought it was just a matter of getting the 1-9 across and down. I never knew about the 3×3 rule. Before I just thought I didn’t get it. It was just too random, too many guesses involved. I didn’t have enough patience or eraser power. But now I get it and can almost do it properly in my head. I’ve caught up to the rest of the world.

Back to the future or at least 2007

I don’t usually list every single movie I’ve seen but I will summarize the most recent ones here.

Hot Fuzz

I liked it. It was very over the top and certainly not for the kiddies even though it is a satire through and through. Keep in mind it is by the Shaun of the Dead crew and though it is not a zombie flick, it is a police satire about a possible serial murderer in a small town. The twist was ludicrously funny. Timothy Dalton seemed like a character from The Simpsons he was so OTT. He looked like he was having a blast. Lots of cameos in this one starting with an uncredited Cate Blanchett, Stephen Merchant (Ricky Gervais’ writing partner) and Peter Jackson.

Fracture

This seems like studio art film if that makes sense. It was fairly entertaining. Anthony Hopkins was having a time portraying a scheming attempted murderer trying to mess with an always interesting and often appealing Ryan Gosling. I can’t believe Ryan Gosling is only 26. It seems like he’s been around a long time and the characters he plays keep getting older and older. It’s also funny to think he was in the Mickey Mouse Club with Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell (Felicity!) and JC Chasez.

The TV Set

For a tv aficionado like me, this was a funny movie to watch as it dissected the coming together of a tv pilot during pilot season. Also, as it was written and directed by Freaks and Geeks alum Jake Kasdan, it was interesting to pick out the similarities to real life. For example, it seemed like David Duchovny’s character was similar to Judd Apatow. I remember him writing about how he had to get back surgery in the middle of working on Freaks and Geeks and being told by the network that he was on the verge of getting canceled. But one downside was I happened to go out during that Nor’easter and got totally soaked so I was trying to dry out my socks the whole time I was watching the movie. Also, I’ve liked Lindsay Sloane since I saw her on the brilliant but under-rated Grosse Pointe. It was good to see her do her thing.

Meet the Robinsons 3D

I admit I saw Chicken Little in 3D and thought it was cute but not particularly memorable. I much prefer the Toy Story movies if we’re talking animation. But Meet the Robinsons was a much better movie than Chicken Little if we’re comparing 3D movies. It was different than what I expected – a little on the trippy side. The story is a bit intense but I think kids could handle it with some explanation. I totally got verklempt at the end. It was touching. And the soundtrack was pretty cute. I liked the Rufus Wainwright songs.

something for the tweens

Not too long ago, I made a Disney mix for a young PCA. I thought I’d share it here. I must say, I’ve grown to like some of these songs. I took a few from Disneymania 5 and the rest from here and there.

1. I Got Nerve / Hannah Montana
2. Kids of the Future / Jonas Brothers
3. Year 3000/ Jonas Brothers
4. I Wan’na Be Like You / Jonas Brothers
5. Step Up / The Cheetah Girls
6. The Party’s Just Begun / The Cheetah Girls
7. Part of Your World / Miley Cyrus
8. Kiss the Girl (Pop Version) / Ashley Tisdale
9. Found a Way (Acoustic)/ Drake Bell
10. Crazy Car / The Naked Brothers Band

I can do without the Cheetah Girls but I really like the theme song to Drake and Josh which I don’t care for as a tv show. But Found a Way really works for me on a musical level. Crazy Car is cute. The only thing about The Naked Brothers Band is that I feel like each of their songs sounds like the last one. But they are sweet so I won’t hold it against them. When I was much younger, I always liked the song I Wanna Be Like You from Jungle Book so it’s fun for me to hear the Jonas Brothers version.

Waitress (2007)

I will be seeing this before it opens so I will let you know how it is. I always liked The Unbelievable Truth and Trust enormously so it saddened me greatly to hear about Adrienne Shelly. But this movie looks like a nice legacy for her memory. Of course, I’m looking forward to seeing Felicity, Keri Russell, all grown up. I mean, she was fine in Mission Impossible 3 but it was a short-lived role.

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…did not tingle in time for me to buy tickets to opening night of Spiderman 3. I mean, the most ideal performance is already sold out. It opens on May 4th. I knew it was time to pay attention but I was a little late. So I got tix just not for when I was aiming.

rattle your jewelry

I was thinking about what John Lennon said when the Beatles performed for the Queen:

November 4, 1963 – The Beatles appear at the Royal Command Performance, performing for the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon. Before beginning “Twist and Shout,” John tweaks the crowd with his comment, “Will the people in the cheaper seats clap their hands? And the rest of you, if you’ll just rattle your jewelry.” http://www.eskimo.com/~bpentium/facts.html

I was at an NY Phil concert the other day and people were moved to clap in between movements of the pieces. But etiquette says in classical music performances, the audience is to wait for the completion of the piece before applauding. You wait for the entire symphony, sonata, concerto or whatever to be done. You don’t clap after each movement. But you know what, movements are composed so that they sound like they’ve reached some sort of conclusion by the end. And as humans, you feel compelled to react. So in this concert, I was thinking about how in live music performances or plays, etc., people react immediately to the performers’ entrances and what they say, sing or do. So, I don’t know. I think things will stay the same. People will keep clapping when they aren’t supposed to and people around them will just be like, oh, don’t you know better? I’m torn because I’m sort of a stickler for rules, but I do feel like in a live performance, the performers and audience are striving to make a connection and what better barometer than cheering and clapping. Anyway, it’s food for thought the next time you’re at a live performance of anything.

back to spidey

So I think Kirsten Dunst had a great idea for Spiderman 4 where Mary Jane and Spiderman get married and she has many babies at once like a spider would – I think she suggested eight mini-Peter Parkers and Mary Janes. And the movie would be done low budget style by Sam Raimi like Evil Dead 2. Anyway, Spiderman 3 is going to be amazing. How could it not?

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Single of the day
Ruby Ruby Ruby Ruby! This song Ruby by the Kaiser Chiefs is totally cute and catchy. I’m digging it. You can see them singing it on Conan O’Brien on youtube.
Frost Nixon
Here’s a very quick review of the play Frost Nixon written by Peter “I wrote The Queen” Morgan about the real interviews British talk show host David Frost conducted with former President Richard Nixon. It was well-written. I thought the star of the show was Michael “I played Tony Blair in The Queen” Sheen who played David Frost. Frank Langella played Nixon and held his own. But not to go all Grandpa Simpson on you, I think they should let go of old-fashioned ideas about miking actors and just plain do it on a regular basis. I could hear but I felt like if someone inhaled deeply in my vicinity, I would miss a vital line. The set was very clever and well-used. The story was interesting. The other characters had some depth but were somewhat superficial. Still, I loved how short it was. It was only one act. I think it was less than 2 hours. My thing is I’m all gung-ho for the first act then after the intermission I lose steam. I get tired and can’t sustain my attention as well. So this one act thing worked great for me. All plays should be constructed as such. Or I guess I could just leave at intermission and preserve the positive feelings but miss the resolutions.

The world according to House
I’ve officially committed to House. I have big plans to power through seasons 1 and 2 in their entireties sometime soon. I also have season 1 of Rome on dvd around. I want to listen to all the commentaries. Busy, busy, busy!

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Well, I declare… Grindhouse was 3 hours and 11 minutes or 191 minutes not 2 hours and 45 minutes like I previously thought. I’ve already complained that it was too long. Now I know it was really long! Apparently for general international release, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino are extending their respective movies and releasing them separately. I guess financially, Grindhouse is a flop. But I bet they will break even overseas.

EDIT: Robert Rodriguez wrote much of the soundtrack which you can look at more here: Grindhouse soundtrack at Amazon. Or go to the Official Grindhouse site for more info.

Cuddly & cantankerous

I’ve become smitten with House. I know it’s the middle of the 3rd season. I know since it’s inception, people I know, critics, strangers on the street, have said, watch House because it’s great. This is how it happened: I just never got into it. I have an involved tv schedule. I like to follow things full on. For the most part, I don’t catch an episode here or there. I watch every second with full attention. So, I was not able to fit in House and it just never made the cut. Then, amidst reruns and no-runs, I noticed House was featuring Dave Matthews. That caught my interest so I taped it and watched it. I was entertained but I still wasn’t hooked. Then the next week came along and I thought, oh, I can tape it again because it’s still reruns, etc. for my other regulars. Again, I wasn’t wowed but I had fun. They are stand alone episodes. You don’t feel like you have to commit completely. Then the next time, I deliberately taped it. And now, I scour for House reruns. Luckily for me, they are rampant, okay, not rampant, but frequent enough.

What is it about House? It’s Hugh Laurie. He’s great. He says what’s on his mind and gets away with it because he’s reliably brilliant. He doesn’t mess up. He only seems like he’s making mistakes but then he comes off as the guy you want by your side in a dire situation.

I read an article about the creator David Shore who said he made blatant similarities between House and Sherlock Holmes down to their addresses. They have the same address! They both live at 221B. I like the homage. Very straightforward. Anyway, the appeal is how House always solves the mystery. It is satisfying for sure.

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Here’s my thumbnail review of Grindhouse:

As much as I loved El Mariachi and actually enjoyed the Spy Kids movies, I have to say the Robert Rodriguez part was too long and unfocused. I mean, I get it. It was a zombie flick. But Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed an homage to B movies that was a good movie while Robert Rodriguez was inspired by junky movies to make a junky movie. I’m not saying it was terrible. It was alright and I don’t mind a little junk. Also, I do think Rose McGowan has appeal. I must say I was disappointed by the news that family man Robert Rodriguez broke up his marriage over Rose McGowan. It’s not like I know him personally though. It just sounded terribly awkward and inconsiderate since his wife and one of his five kids were actually working on the movie with him when he started up with Rose. But I’m seriously digressing, aren’t I? Or maybe not. And I was thinking how Shaun of the Dead is a good movie (how funny does Hot Fuzz look?!) but Planet Terror is just okay. I think it would’ve been great as a short or just one of the trailers. I enjoyed the kitsch factor with the old inserts. But the surprise was how good Quentin’s Death Proof was. He’s a good writer and a good director. His acting was even okay in both parts (Planet Terror and Death Proof). So in a nutshell, the perfect movie for me would’ve been a trailer for Planet Terror, all the other trailers, the inserts and Death Proof in its entirety.

EDIT: I guess the cars merit co-star billing:

1970 white Dodge Challenger – the car Zoe Bell does her stunt on
1970 black Dodge Charger – the car Stuntman Mike drives after first driving a 1970 Nova

The beginning of the end…
The last bit of the Sopranos is off to a stellar start. Eight more episodes to go. Also, Entourage continues to entertain. I keep choosing different favorite characters. I love Lloyd but I also think Johnny Drama is hilarious. Still, Jeremy Piven as Ari is riveting. And whenever she’s onscreen, Debi Mazar is a riot.

Incidentally, for those of you who are looking, I’ll give you the pertinent info about the opening credits of ENTOURAGE:

1) The intro song is Superhero by Jane’s Addiction;

2) The car is a ‘65 Lincoln Continental more specifically a “suicide-door” Lincoln or the Kennedy Lincoln. See below:

“The 60’s Continentals are making a comeback. Known popularly as the ‘’suicide-door” Lincoln or the Kennedy Lincoln, they have appeared recently on HBO’s ”Six Feet Under” and ”Entourage” shows. ”The suicide-door Lincoln is right at the top of the list of cars rented for movies, TV shows, and commercials,” said Michael Kopilec, 51, of Los Angeles-based NationwidePictureCars.com, who has been supplying cars to movie producers for 20 years. ”The popularity of these cars in Hollywood goes in cycles, and the Lincoln is definitely coming into its own again,” Mr. Kopilec said.

The value of 60’s Lincolns — known by fans as ‘’slab-sides” for the smooth, gently arcing steel of their doors and quarterpanels — is rising, too. A 1964 convertible fetched $43,200 in July at the annual Barrett-Jackson auction in Los Angeles. That’s perhaps the most ever paid at public auction for a ‘64 Continental, said Jerry Capizzi, a collector and president of the nascent Lincoln Motor Car Foundation. Doug Mattix, 62, of Dallas, the president of the 4,200-member Lincoln Continental Owners Club, said that a ‘62 convertible recently sold on eBay for $23,000, sight-unseen. Over the last five years, Lincoln aficionados say, the price of a 60’s Continental in good to excellent condition has risen about 25 percent.”

The above is from a New York Times article: DRIVING; A 60’s Star Is Reborn By JOE BARGMANN Published: November 26, 2004.

Hot topic
And a big shout out to my fellow PCA Jack Honky for recommending Mark Ronson’s new album. It’s not out in the US yet but you can hear it on his MySpace page. Mister Honky told me to listen to the cover of Toxic and the Kaiser Chief cover by Lily Allen (Oh My God). Love them both, especially the Lily Allen, exactly as you predicted!

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