day 4.59 - 4.60

...

day 4.57

this.

zooey deschanel and karmin are coming to snl this week. yes. also, how weird is it that i blogged about zooey two days in a row?

i salute whoever made this

santana lopez, one of the greatest tv characters of all time.

day 4.56

new girl: you decide?

chances are you've checked out one of this season's breakout hits, "new girl," staring the "adorkable" (their word, definitely not mine) zooey deschanel. and chances are, if you've seen the show, you've gotten its theme song stuck in your head. well now you can get it stuck in your head all over again while interacting with the cast. sort of. fox released an "interactive" music video for the theme song. so, go interact.

day 4.55

what i love (this week)
...on a monday

the song

love. love. love.

the show

season 2. better than idol.

the movie

now i'm just down to two best picture nominees to see before the big show: hugo and the tree of life.

the look

what else?

day 4.54

l-u-v madonna!

holy. balls.

day 4.52-4.53

nada

lo siento. 

day 4.51

madonna. damn. 

now i understand why andy cohen's been calling sunday the "madonna bowl."

day 4.50

album review: born to die, lana del rey

chances are you caught lana del rey's not-so-stellar tv debut on saturday night live last month. forget it. so, the girl's not a live performer. what she is a killer song writer. del rey (real name, lizzy grant)'s debut, born to die, is a mixed bag of melancholy ballads and catchy choruses sure to get stuck in your head. here are some of the stand out tracks.

"off to the races"

this song will take a couple listens, but trust- you'll love it. del rey moves from deep voiced sing-speak to flowing melody to punchy chorus. she name calls bacardi- how can you not love it?

"radio"

most of born to die is made for move soundtracks ... or a nivea commercial. this is one of those songs.

"diet mountain dew"

the other half is calling out for a rap remix (think kanye, or even childish gambino). "diet mountain dew" is an anthem about love in new york ... and maybe diet soda that melts animal carcasses. i'm not really sure.

"summertime sadness"

a lot of del rey's songs seem to follow the same story arc, with recurring themes of red dresses and death. fun stuff, right? "summertime sadness" is part of that series, which also includes "races" (above), "born to die" and "video games."

that's just a small preview- definitely check out all of del rey's debut on spotify.

day 4.49

this woman

day 4.48

this. woman.

i love kristen wiig and you should, too.

day 4.47

what i love (this week)


the song

late to the party, but happy to be here.

the show

download this pilot on itunes now. phenomenal.

the movie

everything i expect from a lifetime movie and more.

the look

this couple. and george. 

day 4.46

day off?
i'm a busy kid, ok? i'm thinking saturdays might become no blog todays, but i'm not sure. i'll keep you posted (pun fully intended).

day 4.45

so this happened...

oh, fran.

day 4.44

yes.

day 4.43

movie review: joyful noise

um, go see this movie. it is emotional. like, i could tell my body wanted to produce tears but i wouldn't let it. i went in with very low expectations. i mean, i saw this on a wednesday afternoon by myself- if that doesn't say low expectations, i don't know what does. but it was fun, entertaining and emotional. dolly parton sings a jesus-themed version of chris brown's "forever"- that, at the least, should get you to the theater.

day 4.42

2012 oscar nominations
we've officially entered oscar season. hunger games star jennifer lawrence and the academy's president announced this year's crop of nominees this morning- here's who got snubbed, who surprised and who i expect to win.

best picture

• the artist
• the descendants
• extremely loud and incredibly close
• the help
• hugo
• midnight in paris
• moneyball
• the tree of life
• war horse

having seen six of the nine nominees, i'm pretty confident in calling the artist as the winner. the academy voters are old and will vote for nostalgia over a modern film. while i like the artist, i didn't think it was as spectacular as everything keeps claiming. if it were up to me, the descendants would take home the top trophy. well, if it were really up to me, bridesmaids would be nominated and win. hey, academy- time for a comedy category!

best actor in a leading role

• demian bichir, a better life
• george clooney, the descendants
• jean dujardin, the artist
• gary oldman, tinker tailor soldier spy
• brad pitt, moneyball

this category packed two surprises- nominations for demian bichir and gary oldman. both gave buzzed about performances, but neither were expected to make it on the academy's short list. demian won't win, but this wil definitely pump up his presence in hollywood (check out a better life if you can). but expect clooney to take it in this category, with dujardin a close second. i just don't think dujardin's over-the-top emoting will overpower clooney's best performance in years.

best actress in a leading role

• glenn close, albert nobbs
• viola davis, the help
• rooney mara, the girl with the dragon tattoo
• meryl streep, the iron lady
• michelle williams, my week with marilyn

the academy loves a good transformation and this year's leading lady nominees reflect that- all 5 completely transformed on screen, some unrecognizably (see: glenn close as transgendered albert nobbs). close and mara were minor surprises, but neither will win against davis, streep and williams. my guess is the academy will go with perennial winner streep (she did take the character from 40something to 80something), even though davis and williams both deserve to take home a golden guy.

actor in a supporting role

• kenneth branagh, my week with marilyn
• jonah hill, moneyball
• nick nolte, warrior
• christopher plummer, beginners
• max von sydow, extremely loud and incredibly close

w ... t ... f is this category? the supporting actor categories are surprise central. to get it out of the way first, christopher plummer is taking home this award hands down- and i haven't even seen the movie. he's taken every other prize, so why not this one? i mean, he's captain von trapp. but let's talk the other nominees- jonah hill? the academy knows he's in the upcoming 21 jump street, right? nick nolte? huh? max von sydow ... ok, i don't think he talks in that movie, but still. i can get behind kenneth branagh, but eddie redmayne should've been nominated alongside him.

actress in a supporting role

• berenice bejo, the artist
• jessica chastain, the help
• octavia spencer, the help
• melissa mccarthy, bridesmaids
• janet mcteer, albert nobbs

my top choice isn't even nominated???!!! where's shailene woodley? where? that girl cried under water. cried. under. water. i get it- she's on secret life of the american teenager, but don't hold that against her, academy. ok, rant over. this category comes down to octavia spencer and melissa mccarthy- it just depends on what kind of work the voters want to reward. my vote would go to melissa mccarthy- she's all anyone could talk about after bridesmaids hit the big screen- but, octavia spencer (and, to be honest, all of black hollywood) deserve the golden guy more.

that does it for the big categories. to see more nominees and make your own prediction, click here. the 84th academy awards air february 26 on abc, 8/7c. 

day 4.41

oh, american idol

america's favorite singing competition returned last week and, well, i'm underwhelmed. j.lo and steven tyler brought something new and fresh last year, but they're not bringing it this year. it makes me wonder if the show would be better off finding two new superstar judges every year. imagine if katy perry usher sat at the table for a year, followed by a season with gloria estefan and ... ok, i can't think of more people, but i'm sure the producers of idol could. it's just boring this year. plus, they're still doing the unnecessary 327568 weeks of auditions. and the auditions this year are weak- they judges have put putting through bogans. take, for example, the woman above, jane carrey. she can sing, but she's no pop star. the only reason she made it through- and will make it all the way to the live shows- is because she's jim carrey's daughter and idol would love to have him make an audience appearance. idol is no longer making superstars, just super tv. america values very different things in our pop stars and in our reality show contestants, we just need to face it.

day 4.40

what i love (this week)


the song

modern romance

the show

i mean. they designed for miss piggy. and took it more seriously than any other challenge in project runway history.

the movie

straight '80s camp.

the look

so many people i like being weird.

day 4.39

movie review: contraband

no. no. no. contraband is mark wahlberg's latest action-packed thrill ride of a movie, and it's also his weakest. wahlberg stars as chris, a former smuggling expert gone good. but when his young brother-in-law gets caught in the smuggling game, chris has to re-enter to save him and his family. the problem with contraband is that it doesn't push the envelope far enough- it's a predictable romp with almost no twists. there are about 234908 characters, none of whom you get to know, and too many plot holes. giovanni ribisi (aka phoebe's brother from friends) plays the villian, but his cartoon-like choice of accent makes all his threats laughable.  if you're looking for a good wahlberg thriller, just go watch the italian job again- that's all i wanted to do while i sat through contraband.

day 4.37 - day 4.38

mini-break

but i'll be back in less than a month. promise.