Archive: November 2009 (361-370 of 429)

Nov 5 2009 05:10 PM ET

This or That: 'Styl'D' or 'Mtn Dew'?

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Filed under: Food and Drink, Television and tagged: , , , , , ,

buy-a-vowel_lWhr my vwls @? No really. Are we seriously too lazy to use VOWELS anymore? I want to like MTV’s new fashion series Styl’D, but I can’t really handle the omission of the e in the title and don’t even want to get going on that upper-case D. I find this letter cluster about as inexplicable as the way Mountain Dew has been shortened to “Mtn Dew.” Maybe it’s even worse? I’m having trouble deciding. The Styl’D logo is actually kind of snazzy, and the “t” in “Mtn” has a somewhat cute peak-like effect. This is a really tough one! Help me out, P-Dubs: Which of these lame abbreves is more annoying? Keep in mind that if you vote for option #3, you’re dead to me. I know, big loss.

Nov 5 2009 04:44 PM ET

Kris Allen song snippets: Let's rank 'em from best to not-so-best!

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Filed under: American Idol and tagged: , , ,

Kris-Allen-photo_lIn some ways, there’s no experience less satisfying than listening to song-snippet leaks from albums you’ve been anticipating for mini-eternities. (What? After an hour of smelling a chocolate cake baking in an oven, you’d be happy with a crumb?) But as someone who happened to be in a three-day corporate meeting last week when Italian Amazon leaked 30-second samples of the 13 songs from Kris Allen’s self-titled debut, I can attest that, in fact, I’d rather have had an all-too-brief musical tease than absolutely no music at all. And while our Music Mix blog has already run an item on the American Idol season 8 champ’s tracks, I figured that as EW’s resident Idoloonie, I had an obligation to weigh in on ‘em, too. (Don’t fret, Adam Lambert fans, I’ve got his 19 snippets on my to-do list, too! But that’s a lot o’ music to digest and dish!)

As for the man who wears a Henley like no other, I’m only going to dish the nine tracks I haven’t discussed publicly before. I’ve already betrayed a Fatal Attraction-level obsession with Kris’ debut single “Live Like We’re Dying” on two separate occasions, so I’ll refrain from boiling the bunny with a third go-’round, and last week, I dissected “Before We Come Undone,” “Can’t Stay Away,” and “Written All Over My Face” (loved all three of ‘em!) after Kris premiered them at a Miami Dolphins tailgate party. Now, while it’s not easy (and probably not fair) to judge songs on the basis of 30-second snapshots, I’m nonetheless going to tackle Kris’ snippets in descending order from least- to most-fave. Here we go! READ FULL STORY »

Nov 5 2009 04:34 PM ET

Ball finally inducted into toy hall of fame

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Filed under: To Care or Not to Care and tagged: , ,

toy-hall-of-fame_lThe inductees to the National Toy Hall of Fame this year were announced today, and they are, drumroll please, Game Boy, Big Wheel, and…the ball. Yep, the ball, just that generic ol’ orb!

Last year, the HoF inducted the stick, so I guess a ball isn’t that out of character. It just seems a little too basic to warrant specific admission rather than just be recognized as part of the ur-concept of toydom. It’s like the Baseball Hall of Fame inducting the idea of keeping statistics. I don’t know how the ball wasn’t already there, you know? Especially because Atari, Barbies, baby dolls, Legos, Lincoln Logs, Lionel trains, marbles (kind of a form of ball?), Monopoly, Mr. Potato Head, Play-Doh, the rocking horse, and View-Masters already made the cut. (Among others. Full list here.) Even the Strong National Museum of Play (which includes the National Toy Hall of Fame, naturally) admits the ball is “as old as civilization itself,” but for some reason it is just making the cut now, along with toys that launched in 1969 and 1989.

That said, good call on the Game Boy, toy folk! Sweet heavens, I loved my first Game Boy. Here’s hoping sled and doll house make the cut next year. What toy would you induct, PopWatchers?

Nov 5 2009 04:12 PM ET

'Food Inc.' now on DVD and Blu-Ray: Will it ruin your appetite?

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Filed under: Food and Drink and tagged: , ,

When I saw Food Inc. this summer, it was the first experience in which a movie actually changed my lifestyle. I’ve seen my fair share of docs -– Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, America the Beautiful, and American Teen, among others -– but after watching Food Inc. and its graphic portrayal of chicken coops, meat processing centers and alarming stats about corrupt agriculture practices, I quit meat cold tofurkey.

Before seeing it, I called myself a “flexitarian,” meaning I dabbled in meat here and there, but I was pretty much a vegetarian. But since the movie, those images (I’ll be vague so as to not ruin it for the carnivores) are now seared in my brain and it’s hard to look at meat the same way. I know the movie discusses the heinous practices of soy and corn production, too, but for me, it was the meat stuff that really got to me.

Now that the documentary is on DVD, and more importantly, Blu-Ray, would the faint of heart or ignorance-is-bliss crowd really want to see the harsh reality in hi-def? What other movies shouldn’t get the HD treatment?

Nov 5 2009 12:45 PM ET

'Thriller' inmates dance to Queen

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The famed “dancing inmates” of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in Cebu, Philippines, have a new routine, this time to a Queen medley (that also includes “Mr. Roboto,” which is Styx, but okay).

The “Thriller” video set the bar pretty high for these dances — though I’m partial to the weird dissonance of “Holding Out for a Hero” — so I can’t see this Queen arrangement taking a place among the all-time YouTube hits, but who knows. Is this destined to be a viral classic, PopWatchers?

Nov 5 2009 11:31 AM ET

New 'Sherlock Holmes' trailer: Magical mystery

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The newest Sherlock Holmes trailer is out, and boy is it muscular and sassy! Generally, those are two great tastes that taste great together:

It’s not hugely different than the other trailers we’ve already seen, but at least it mercifully excludes the truly terrible tagline “Holmes for the holiday,” which makes me want to cry (in a bad way).

I’m usually on Team Deductive Reasoning and not Team Blow Stuff Up, but between the always-alluring Robert Downey, Jr., the very pretty Jude Law, the under-appreciated Rachel McAdams, and lots of flirtatious banter, this movie might suck me in. How about you, PopWatchers? Will you be heading to Baker Street?

Nov 5 2009 11:25 AM ET

New 'Despicable Me' trailer: We all scream for supervillains

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Filed under: Movies and tagged: , , ,

Denis Leary once told me he didn’t know who thought he would be a good person to voice a saber tooth tiger in the first Ice Age movie. He just “thanked heaven they did.” (Actually, Leary used rather more explicit language. But that probably goes without saying.) The comedian and Rescue Me star also admitted that they “might as well” have delivered his wages for the phenomenally successful second Ice Age movie in a truck.

Leary’s words sprang to mind upon viewing the new trailer for next year’s supervillain-oriented animated movie Despicable Me, a film from Ice Age exec producer Chris Meledandri. Frankly, the animators seem to have been required to do a lot more work than the vocal talent in the clip (though I’m sure the likes of Steve Carell, Russell Brand, Jason Segel and Kristen Wiig will perform more heavy comedic lifting in the actual movie). I (just) preferred the first trailer, which is also embedded below, because of my long held belief that a a fat kid bouncing off a pyramid is funnier than a thin one having his balloon animal burst.

But, hey, that’s just me! Take a look, and tell us what you think.

Nov 5 2009 11:24 AM ET

Our Must pick makes us giggle like a schoolgirl. What got you giddy this week?

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I’m not sure that the video to the Backstreet Boys new single ”Bigger” is as entertaining as the parody PopWatch showed you last week, but the second video from the group’s latest album, This Is Us, gives me a wonderfully familiar flutter in my once-teenage soul. Unlike the band’s dance-track first single ”Straight to my Heart,” this song and video are a throwback to the BSB who had me shrieking and crying in fangirl joy (Wow, was that a month ago already?). Click the repeat button a few times, and I dare you not to hum the tune on the way home.

Now you go. In the world of TV/movies/books/games/online/music that makes you want to squeal in joy, what’s on your Must List this week? Don’t forget: Tell us why and give us your e-mail address (in case your suggestion gets put in the magazine!). Deadline is Friday, Nov. 6 at noon ET.

Nov 5 2009 10:45 AM ET

Josh Wolk's Pop Culture Club talks 'Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew': Silly, then powerful, then back again

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panny-flame_lWelcome back to the Pop Culture Club, where this week we visited one of my pet obsessions, Dr. Drew’s latest “D-listers get the D.T.’s” series: Sex Rehab. I have been down this road with Dr. D for two Celebrity Rehabs and a Sober House, and — to use the most common pun possible for this show — I’m addicted.

The dilemma I always face in watching his shows is that I can never decide whether it’s exploitative or not. Do you remember, from when you were kids, the “That’s good/that’s bad” story? Someone would tell a long shaggy dog tale and it would constantly switch from being good news to bad, e.g., “I fell out of a plane. That’s bad. But I had a parachute! That’s good. But the parachute didn’t open. That’s bad. But I landed on a giant feather bed! That’s good. But it was filled with rocks! That’s bad”…etc. Well, that’s exactly the frequency with which I changed my opinion about whether Sex Rehab was ridiculous or haunting while watching the premiere. One minute I was high-mindedly snickering at a patient who was acting like a typical reality-TV exhibitionist bonehead, and the next I was agape as Dr. Drew pointed out exactly why that behavior could kill them. READ FULL STORY »

Nov 5 2009 10:00 AM ET

'Modern Family': The five best lines from last night's episode, 'En Garde'

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Filed under: Modern Family and tagged: ,

So I’m (technically) on vacation today, and my colleague Ken Tucker is handling recap duties for last night’s Manny-centric Modern Family. Click here to check out his take, but in the interim, I had to share my five favorite lines from “En Garde.” In descending order (drumroll please) they are: READ FULL STORY »

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