It's Live Blog Time!

Golden Globes LiveBlog!

Diva and I are going to try something a little different for tomorrow night's Golden Globes. We will be doing a LiveBlog during the show and hope you will join in! We are very excited and hope that it all goes according to plan. See you there!

Movies, award shows, whatnot...

So PCG has taken a little sabbatical, but I'm back! Hopefully Sister Itty Bitty will join in!

Lots of Pop Culturey things going on, well always, but esp the holiday season. You know, have to get people to buy this stuff and when will they buy it? JESUS'S BIRTHDAY!

So I bought tickets for the three shows I wanted to see the most and downloaded a few of the tunes I would like to listen to more than once, including a few Christmas tunes, and here are my thoughts.

Sherlock Holmes-this was the top of my holiday viewing list and it most definitely was all it was supposed to be! Mr Downey was incredible as was Jude Law. It was an updated, more spirited version of the classic, there was a little more action. My suggestion? Go see it. In theaters.

Avatar: Now like my friend SIB, I don't really like to buy into THE HYPE surrounding movies, such as AVATAR. (notice all caps, this is how it must be pronounced, just like TITANIC!) And James Cameron's latest spectacle was much like Titanic, not very subtle and pretty predictable. (what, you thought the boat might make it to NY? Wouldn't that be a cool alternate ending?) But, I bit the bullet and went to see it. In 3D no less. It was a pretty good flick. Very political and sort of hits you over the head with it's message, but worth seeing. In 3D. Think part Ferngully, part Pocahontas, part Star Trek. So if you liked any of these movies (Disney's Pocahontas not Brave World with Colin Ferrell and was a TERRIBLE movie), then you will enjoy Avatar. But probably not if blue people freak you out. or you like war. or you don't like nature. just FYI.

Nine: Well, being a music lover, I was excited for another "Musical by the makers of Chicago." I should not have been. It was ok. Not enough big singing and dance numbers for my taste. Perhaps I had too high expectations, but it was not my favorite new musical. The actors & actresses were good, the writing was ok. There was no plot until the last 20 min. Fergie's big dance/sing number was the best part of the flick and Marion C. was quite good, but overall, meh.

New song list will follow soon.

Stay Warm!

Cadillac Records

For those of you who know me, you know I'm a huge music fan. My iPod has about a gazillion songs on it (well, more like 3200) and I love finding new artists and discovering different stuff all the time. And naturally, this flows right into my movie taste. I adore music-based movies, so I was pretty pumped about watching Cadillac Records. This is the story of Chess Records, a company based in Chicago that produced acts like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, The Wolf, Chuck Berry, and Etta James.

It was a pretty interesting flick...I learned a lot about the artists that I know and love, and got a lot of the backstory that maybe the typical fan does not know. The acting was pretty decent...Adrien Brody definitely gets props as label owner Leonard Chess. Beyonce, in her role as Miss James, did a solid job as well. It was clear that the movie was riding on the coattails of Dreamgirls, as it had a similar feel and I actually thought of Beyonce's portrayal of Deena Jones during the movie. She's a little one-dimensional as an actress, but she's Beyonce. She'll be alright.

All in all, I recommend this film to anyone who's interested in music's history or just likes to hear some really good songs during their movie-watching experience.

Rating: THREE angel wings.

July Playlist-LET'S GET MOVIN'!

1 Accessory Jordyn Taylor
2 Again Natasha Bedingfield
3 Bad Girl The Pussycat Dolls
4 Big Spender Adrienne Bailon
5 Blue Jeans Jessie James
6 Calling You Kat DeLuna
7 Fashion Lady GaGa
8 Uncontrollable Adrienne Bailon
9 Unstoppable Kat DeLuna
10 Halo Beyoncé
11 Wanted Jessie James
12 I Gotta Feeling Black Eyed Peas
13 I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho) [Radio Edit] Pitbull
14 Kaboom! Ursula 1000
15 Shut Up and Let Me Go The Ting Tings
16 Fingerprints Katy Perry
17 Bar-Ba-Sol David Cook
18 I Don't Feel Like Dancin' Scissor Sisters

Movies to see this summer, in one sentence. (yes some of them are run-on)

Spring Breakdown-funny little flick with two of my favs: Amy Poehler and Racheal Dratch, not to mention small parts with so other SNL peeps & Amy's awesome hubby.
Valkrye-pretty good for a movie with two things wrong with it: Tom Cruise and failure.
Confessions of a Shopaholic-consumer driven yes: funny and cute, most def!
Gran Torino-fav Clint E. movie ever.
Revolutionary Road-Kate Winslet is freaking amazing, that Leo fella ain't too bad either.
He's Just Not That Into You-every guy should see this movie to see how women really are, every girl should see this movie to see how we really are!
Star Trek-SOOOOO not your daddy's enterprise...
Angels and Demons-good movie, Tom Hanks-how can you go wrong?
Paul Bart: Mall Cop-funny, silly flick.
The International-decent but slightly depressing as it totally supports hubby's conspiracy theories (not about aliens).
Taken-high suspense, Liam is awesome.
Bride Wars-adorable and funny, could've been better without the last 5-10 mins.
Role Models-hilarious at times, but not for everyone.
Rachael Getting Married-the opposite of Bride Wars, but still funny and seriously good.
Twilight-don't know if you've heard of this little movie, it's pretty good.
High School Musical: 3-yet another small indy film, good if you like musicals and disney.
Body of Lies-very good, nice conspiracy sort of flick.
Flash of Genius-good, but also sad.

Music-You-Should-Own-Old-School-Playlist

Here are some super awesome songs that EVERYONE should own!

1 Wild World-Cat Stevens
2 White Rabbit-Jefferson Airplane
3 No Time-The Guess Who
4 Light My Fire-The Doors
5 Mellow Yellow-Donovan
6 Teach Your Children-Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young
7 Fortunate Son-Creedence Clearwater Revival
8 Mr. Tambourine Man-The Byrds
9 The Joker-Steve Miller Band
10 Go Where You Wanna Go-The Mamas & The Papas
11 Daydream-The Lovin' Spoonful
12 Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is?-Chicago
13 Ain't No Sunshine-Bill Withers
14 Oye Como Va-Santana
15 Groovin'-The Rascals
16 We Gotta Get Out Of This Place-The Animals
17 Woodstock-Joni Mitchell
18 The Sounds of Silence-Simon & Garfunkel
19 Stairway to Heaven-Led Zeppelin

Diva's Rushing Summer Playlist

A little bit of Old School, a little bit of New School, rockin' us into summer!

I Love Rock 'N Roll-Joan Jett & The Blackhearts
Cheap and Cheerful-The Kills
Homecoming-Kanye West
Cecilia-Simon & Garfunkel
I Love You Always Forever-Donna Lewis
Something Like That-Tim McGraw
Chinese-Lily Allen
God Only Knows-The Beach Boys
The Luckiest-Ben Folds
You Are Mine-Mute Math
Go Where You Wanna Go-The Mamas & The Papas
Because The Night-10,000 Maniacs MTV Unplugged
The Boys Of Summer-Don Henley
Full Moon-The Black Ghosts-Twilight (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Ain't No Rest for the Wicked-Cage the Elephant
I Know What I Am-Band of Skulls
Shut Up and Let Me Go-The Ting Tings
Magnificent-U2

Changeling

I had been waiting quite a while to see this film which gave Angelina Jolie a Best Actress nod at this year's Oscars. It definitely lived up to my expectations.

Jolie was absolutely amazing, as well as the rest of the cast, which included John Malkovich and a bunch of very talented people I've never heard of (haha). A true story about a mother's determination to find her kidnapped son and the corruption of the LAPD during the 1920s, Changeling is a movie that will suck you in the moment the opening credits roll. Clint Eastwood did a tremendous job directing as always. Rent this movie TODAY.

Four angel wings!!

Austrailia!

I was really excited about this movie, but then it didn't get great reviews and wasn't in theater's very long, so it became a rental this week.

It was pretty good. A sweeping "epic," there were quite a few pretty shots, but the plot was a bit discombobulated, and a bit longer than it needed to be. LOVE Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, plus director Baz Luhrman, but it lacked the usual spark his movies bring to the screen. Overall, a solid rental. Two angel wings.

Talkin It Up on the Jimmy Fallon Talk Show

I was more than excited when they announced that Jimmy Fallon would be taking over for Conan O'Brien on NBC's Late Show. And after what seems like an eternity of waiting, it finally premiered last night!

If you didn't get a chance to catch it last night or set your DVR, you really missed out. I'll admit I had pretty high expectations, and fortunately, they were all met. Jimmy did a great job, and his house band is the f-ing ROOTS. How cool is that?!?

My favorite part of the show was when Jimmy decided to "Slow Jam the News." I really can't describe it...you can watch it here.

His first guest was Robert DeNiro...an excellent choice, especially since Mr. DeNiro is not known for doing talk shows. Pretty good interview...and I didn't know Jimmy and Bobby did a movie together.

Next up...Justin Timberlake!! These two are hilarious...and the interview did not disappoint.

Musical guest was Van Morrison...Jimmy has really hit it out of the park with the guests so far. Other guests this week include Tina Fey (!), Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz, and Ludacris, just to name a few. So set your DVRs or take a disco nap...this is a show you want to do your best not to miss.

Itty Bitty's March Playlist

It's finally that wonderful time of year when the snow begins to melt, the leaves begin to come out on the trees, and you don't have to wear a coat every day. This is my favorite time of year--the time when you can comfortably wear t-shirts, flip flops, and cruise around with the windows rolled down and the radio as loud as possible. In that spirit, I wanted to share with you the songs I'll be listening to this March:

1. "Gamma Ray" (Beck) - From his latest release...just a fun song.
2. "Love Letter to Japan" (The Bird and the Bee) - I recently discovered this group...they have a unique sound and this is a pretty catchy song.
3. "That's Not My Name" (The Ting Tings) - No matter what her name is, I love this jam.
4. "Gives You Hell" (All-American Rejects) - We've all been here. A great f-you song.
5. "Chasing Pavements" (Adele) - Adele is a talented unique artist...this is the biggest single off her new release.
6. "Ain't Nothing Wrong With That" (Robert Randolph and the Family Band) - Diva's mentioned this one before, but if this song doesn't put you in a good mood, nothing will.
7. "Viva La Vida" (Coldplay) - I heart Coldplay.
8. "Bang Bang" (K'naan f/ Adam Levine) - This is the free download on iTunes right now. I definitely recommend it.
9. "Good Life" (Kanye West) - You know I gotta include some Mr. West on my playlists. This is one of my favorites.
10. "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)" (Digable Planets) - An oldie but a goodie.
11. "Just Like Me" (Jamie Foxx) - Jamie's lastest track...smooth vocals, nice beat, excellent song.
12. "I Love College" (Asher Roth) - This reminds me of the lamest white guy you know trying to do Jay-Z at the Karaoke bar. So I enjoy this tune quite a bit. :)
13. "Live Your Life" (T.I. f/ Rhianna) - I am a huge T.I. fan...this song has a good message.
14. "I'm On a Boat" (The Lonely Island f/ T-Pain) - You might remember this digital short on SNL. Andy Samberg and crew have put out an album with many of their songs...including D*** in a Box, Lazy Sunday, and Natalie Portman's rap from a couple seasons ago. If you're an SNL fan, this is a must-have.

Remember you can download all these songs from my iMix on iTunes...just search for Pop Culture Gospel. And Happy Cruising!!

One Missed Call - One Movie I Wish I'd Missed

"One Missed Call" tells the story of Beth Raymond, a college student whose friends begin to mysteriously receive voice mails from the future recording the sounds of their impending deaths. She goes to the police, who think she's crazy, except for Det. Jack Andrews, whose sister has apparently met the same fate. They team up to figure out what the crap is going on. And then, in true horror movie fashion, Beth hears the creepy ringtone on her phone, and guess what? She's got a new voicemail.

For a horror movie, this one was decent I guess. I was yelling "Don't open that door!", "Get out of there!", and "You stupid hussy, what are you thinking?", so I guess it was a successful scary movie. It reminded me a lot of "The Ring"...creepy little girls, using technology to kill people, and a pretty predictable plot. If you want to be sufficiently creeped out, it's a solid rental. Ed Burns and Shannyn Sossaman are both adequate in their roles.

Rating: Two angel wings!!

A Sign of the Times?

Last night, I received an interesting phone call. A representative from the production team of Feature Films for Families/F1 Films/Believe Pictures called to let me know that a new movie would be coming to theatres on Friday, The Velveteen Rabbit. If I were to commit to going to see the film this weekend, I would receive a coupon to purchase a free DVD from the production company (which I can only assume would be a movie called "Only the River Runs Free", the only other film listed on their site...great selection guys.).

It was an intriguing offer, and a new marketing strategy I hadn't seen before. But mostly I thought it was strange. Are smaller movie studios doing so badly that they have to practically bribe people to go see their films? If this is true, it's not a good sign for independent film, which makes me sad. These filmmakers are the true artists and visionaries of the film industry, and it's hard enough for them to eke out a living. I hope this is not the beginning of the end of these type movies, as some of my favorite movies were not produced by the bigger studios.

So, if you get a chance, go see The Velveteen Rabbit in theaters Friday. It's a great story, and you'll at least get a free DVD out of it. And consider it your quest to help keep these smaller studios alive.

The winner of the Best Award Show of 2009 is...

THE OSCAR'S!

Last night's Academy Awards were far superior to the last few years of long, boring, monstrosities.

The red carpet pre-show was the perfect length with only a couple awkward moments brought on by incompetent interviewing. A brunette Ryan Seacrest tripped up with Jack Black & wife, Miley Cyrus forgot to mention the name of the movie she was touting, Marisa Tomei gave Seacrest the death stare-no love lost there! Introducing us to the program's stage producer and music producer was a super bonus that emphasised new details in the evening.

On to the show...
Hugh Jackman was delightful. He began with a fantastic opening, claiming he built it in his garage Saturday night as the Academy couldn't afford an opening with the recession. The pizza boxes, paint rollers, and lamp shades assisted in creating the image of Hugh staying up all night with his hot glue gun making the sets. Anne Hathaway's "impromptu" performance as Nixon made it all the more adorable.

The first award set the stage for the entire show. The Academy had kept the presenters a secret, with good reason. The new format brought out 5 past winners of each award to speak about the individuals nominated. It was much more interesting and fascinating to see the awards presented in this way. See the Best Supporting Actress award presented. Supporting Actor, Best Actress, and Best Actor were all presented in this fashion. It was gorgeous.

One of the lesser developed ideas for the evening was to take the audience through the process of movie making with the awards. This seemed a little half-baked and we lost sight of it a few times. The highlight was by far Tina Fey and Steve Martin's screen play presentation. Some other great presenters were Jack Black/Jennifer Aniston for best animation and Natalie Portman with Ben Stiller who was channeling Joaquin Phoenix for cinematography. Hilarious.

Seth Rogan and James Franco, spoofing their own Pineapple Express, replaced the recent Will Ferrel and Steve Carell comedy duo in a Judd Apatow short film.

Michael Moore moments were provided by Bill Maher (presenting documentaries) and Sean Penn (upon winning the best actor award).

The Musical is BACK! was a huge number staring host Hugh Jackman, Beyonce, Zac Ephron, Vanessa Hudgens (both from High School Musical), Amanda Seigfred, and Dominic Cooper (both from Mamma Mia). Created by none other than Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge & Australia). Definitely the highlight of the evening!

Back to the movies Heath Ledger rightly won the Best Supporting Actor for his work in the Dark Knight as Joker.

The movie montages were fantastic showcasing not only nominated movies but other romances, action movies, and animations that weren't nominated.

The sound track presentations by Alicia Keys (was adorable and awesome) and Zac Ephron were amazing with performances of the songs by the original artists.

Queen Latifa sang over the "In Memory" video montage, lovely. Much better than having only a score.

One of the best impromptu moments was when Kate Winslet, upon winning the Best Actress Award told Meryl Streep (with a record of 15 lifetime nominations) that she would just have to "suck it up" after not winning this one.

Slumdog Millioniare was the big winner of the night, the best speech by it's director Danny Boyle who accepted Best Director in the spirit of Tigger per a request from his kids. The picture also took home Best Picture Award.

A complete list of winners can be seen here.

Secret Life of Bees should remain a secret and New In Town

Perhaps it's because of the hype, but the Secret Life of Bees was a bit disappointing. Queen Latifa and Alicia Keys were fantastic and it was nice to see Dakota Fanning in a more age appropriate role-young teenager. Paul Bettany, who seems to just pop up randomly these days was excellent as the soul-lost father. The supporting cast was fine. The movie is drenched in sadness. The plot is okay, but slow. One Angel Wing.

New In Town was a cute chick flick. Don't expect much substance or many plot twists, if you've seen many "girly" movies it won't be hard follow this one from the beginning. It's good clean fun with some great actors and adorable Minnesota humor. One Angel Wing.

Fireproof: the beginning of Christian Hollywood?

As part of NPR's ramping up to yesterday's Oscars, they aired a segment today on the movie Fireproof and Christian movies. As a Christian and movie buff, I payed close attention. (You can read the transcript here.) I applaud the creators of Fireproof for glorifying God through their gift. It is a step above the usual "christian" media.


To me "Christian" movies have always been on a level with Lifeway (a HUGE Baptist corporation that has it's conservative fingers in just about everything), overly trite "inspirational" music, and salvation tracts that turn people off more than they teach. They have their place and do many good things for many good people, but generally don't spread the love of Jesus to the already unreached or skeptical.


Yes, Fireproof was made to entertain, preach, and affirm Christians, but can you expect a movie to build up a relationship with your unreached neighbor? Christian movies can be reminisent of church-goers who only use christian phone companies, christian, plumbers, and only have Christian friends.


The entertainment industry can be a greedy, worldly, and selfish entity. Even out of the most evil things can produce beauty and knowledge. There are many movies, songs, and stories that are not "christian" but have spoken to my heart in a way only possible through a Higher Power. If I only watched Christian movies, I would miss such amazing films as: Slumdog Millionaire, Hotel Rwanda, The Green Mile, Stand By Me, Glory, Rent, Pride and Prejudice, to name a few. If I only listened to Christian music, I wouldn't hear God's voice through U2, Kanye West, or Billy Bragg.


Sure, we should guard ourselves and our minds, but as Christians, we should live in the world, but not be "of" the world. After all, Jesus hung out with prostitues and tax collectors.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist Infinitly Awesome

A great little movie with a couple of super actors. The always adorable Micheal Cera is fantastic and anything that Kat Dennings' is in will be amazing (see Charlie Bartlet, ER). This one little night changes their high school-seniors-headed-toward-college lives forever. The music is super good, the supporting actors hysterical, all I can say is Where's Fluffy?

THREE angel wings!

This is maybe the most awkward interview EVER.

If you missed this last night, Joaquin Phoenix stopped by The David Letterman show to promote his new movie. What happened next was television gold and one of the most awkward interviews in TV history. Dave tried for several minutes to get anything other than a one-word answer from Joaquin, and was pretty unsuccessful. It was an extremely painful interview to watch.

Upon first looking at the video, it's clear that Phoenix is out of his mind. He has recently quit acting to pursue a hip-hop music career, and he definitely appears to be on something pretty heavy. However, it is not that simple. Apparently, Casey Affleck has been videotaping Phoenix and his transition to rapper. But is this film a documentary or a MOCKumentary? You can watch the video and decide. I have to believe that is all a hoax...because I hate to believe that such a talented actor has fallen so far.

Lightning Round! Movie Reviews from S.I.B.

It's been a slow week, so I've had the pleasure of catching up on several movies that I've been holding hostage on my DVR for a few weeks, and wanted to share my thoughts with you. I'll keep them brief because there are so many...and be sure to come back later this week with my review of He's Just Not That Into You.

Miss Potter - Renee Zellweger portrays Beatrix Potter in this beautiful story about love, being your own person, and keeping your resolve no matter what happens. It was a little slow at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. A solid rental. (Rating: One angel wing.)

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry - Adam Sandler and Kevin James are hilarious as a faux gay couple, and Jessica Biel has a decent performance as their gay rights attorney. There's even a cameo appearance from Dave Matthews. Good flick for a Tuesday evening. (Rating: Three angel wings.)

The Seat Filler - Duane Martin stars in this flick as a struggling law student who begins moonlighting as an awards show seat filler to make ends meet. Confusion ensues when he meets a beautiful pop star (played by Destiny Child's Kelly Rowland) and she mistakes him for a high-powered Hollywood attorney. You can pretty much tell what happens next. I've seen this same plotline a hundred times, but it's a good story with some funny moments. A good movie to watch on a lazy Sunday afternoon. (Rating: Two angel wings.)

December Boys - I'll admit I watched this movie for the sole purpose of seeing Daniel Radcliffe in a role other than Harry Potter--would he be believable as anything other than a boy wizard? This is a coming of age story for four Australian orphans who go on a month long holiday to the coast. It was pretty slow and took me several sittings to finish it. A beautiful story, but I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again. (Rating: One angel wing, and maybe one devil horn.)

The Bucket List - Everyone kept telling me how good this movie was...I was not a fan. I was not pulled into the story at all. It has a great message about living each day like it's your last, but if that's what you are looking for, watch Rent. The story is much better, and it's a musical (you can't go wrong with that!). (Rating: Two devil horns.)

Waitress - This is the story of Jenna, a "pie genius" who has a crappy job, is in a crappy marriage, and generally has a rough time. The bright spot of her life is making pies (Pushing Daisies anyone?). But then Jenna finds herself pregnant, which takes her on a journey she never knew existed. It was an okay movie, but really, it just left me hungry--for a better plot, and of course, pie. (Rating: One pair of angel wings.)