Hooray Movies!

This holiday weekend was the best ever for movie box offices and the previous record was shattered. Of course, the story makes no mention that ticket prices are higher now than ever, so, take it was grain of salt on your popcorn … Sorry, that wasn’t funny.

The three-day holiday weekend, also the last weekend of the year, was a boon for Hollywood. Box offices raked in $263 million, shattering the previous year’s record of $253.6 million over the summer weekend The Dark Knight was released. Avatar, which is still only showing in 3-D, continued to lead the pack, and Sherlock Holmes opened to a solid $65.4 million, above industry expectations. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel benefited from the kid-friendly time of year, taking in $50.2 million. “When the third-place movie is at $50 million, it’s usually a pretty good sign that you’re going to break some records,” noted a Fox executive. Rounding out the top openers was Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin’s It’s Complicated, which came in a far fourth at $22.1 million. (The Wrap)

I went and saw Up in the Air. I guarantee I had a better time than the $50.2 million worth of idiots who saw The Squeakquel.

Help Me Carrie Underwood, You’re My Only Hope

Carrie Underwood is engaged! Why should you care? Really, you shouldn’t… except for the fact that she’s marrying hockey player Mike Fisher, meaning her name could be Carrie Fisher (Geek Squeal!!!)

Carrie Underwood is engaged to hockey beau Mike Fisher, the country-music star’s rep confirmed today. The wedding date hasn’t been set, but “the couple couldn’t be happier.” Underwood and her hubby-to-be worked hard to keep their relationship under the radar, but both were excited to announce their engagement. The details are still private, but Fisher reportedly proposed at his home Sunday afternoon. (People)

This wouldn’t be so awesome, except if she marries Mike and becomes Carrie Fisher, she has to walk down the aisle in Princess Leia’s gold bikini. Sorry Carrie, it’s the law.

The Art of Steve Keene

A few weeks ago, I literally stumbled onto the work of STEVE KEENE, an amazing artist from Brooklyn who does what he calls “SK Art.” I’ll let him explain:

(Steve) spent a few years as a DJ on a radio station where, surrounded by thousands of records, it was harder to find something he didn’t like than something he did. 

Steve says, “I want buying my paintings to be like buying a CD: it’s cheap, it’s art and it changes your life, but the object has no status. Musicians create something for the moment, something with no boundaries and that kind of expansiveness is what I want to come across in my work.”

In essence, Steve does mass-painting - he sets up rows of canvases and just paints, whatever is in his head goes onto the blank wooden slate. Pure artistic expression.

I fell in love with this concept. As someone who is a near-perfectionist, the idea of throwing everything to the wind and just being creative fascinates and terrifies me. Plus, I really really liked his style.

So I ordered a bundle - 5 paintings for about $30. I had no idea what they would be of, I was just excited to be part of the idea.

Now, as you can see, I did not receive 5 paintings:

I think it was about 20 in total, but I could be wrong. I could not, however, been more right about the purchase. Look at those, they’re amazing! Some I recognized immediately, like the album covers of The Smiths, The Clash and Air. Others seemed like landscapes of places I’ve heard of but never seen (like Venice, CA). And others look like concepts, with the words “Unfair” painted over pictures of people.

I’m blown away by the concept and by the artist. I cannot recommend him enough.

-Alex

ps. First photo from SK’s Web site. All the rest were taken by Allison Johnson, and it was darn nice of her to do so.

Golden Nonsense

The Golden Globes nominations came out yesterday, and, as always, I’m annoyed. This is my annoyed face: *grrrrrrrrr*…

Up in the Air confirmed its place as a heavy awards-season favorite during Tuesday morning’s Golden Globe nominations announcement, garnering six honors, including a slot in the Best Picture - Drama category, but the big winners may have been Sandra Bullock and Meryl Streep. Streep’s performances in Julie & Julia and It’s Complicated got her named twice in Best Actress - Comedy or Musical, while Bullock was nominated once each in both Best Actress categories, forThe Proposal (Comedy or Musical) and The Blind Side (Drama). The other Best Picture - Drama nominees included Inglourious Basterds, The Hurt Locker, Precious and Avatar. Musical Nine received five nominations—three of them for acting—while Precious and The Hurt Locker, two other Oscar frontrunners, only gathered three and two nominations, respectively. The television nominees included Alec Baldwin for 30 Rock, Neil Patrick Harris for How I Met Your Mother, and Mad Men for Best Television Series - Drama. The Golden Globes are presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. (The Associated Press)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m psyched that, Glee, Inglourious Basterds and The Hurt Locker were nominated, but here is my list of the top ten movies, shows and people snubbed:

1. “Lost” - The best show on television, hands down. Come on, bring it haters.
2. Jim Parsons (“The Big Bang Theory’s” Sheldon) - The show has it’s ups and downs, but he is routinely solid and awesomely hilarious.
3. “District 9” - Hollywood, you’re going to be punched in the face. Did you see this film? Huh, did you? No? That’s what I thought…jerks.
4. Anyone on “Modern Family” - This show has the best cast on tv, and yet, not a single actor nomination. For shame.
5. John Noble (“Fringe’s” Walter Bishop) - Hilarious, quirky and sad. His range on gets to me, and it should have gotten to the voters too.
6. “Star Trek” - This one may get me yelled at, but I loved it as a film. I has such low expectations and walked out with such high praise.
7. Lee Daniels (Director of “Precious”) - I didn’t see the film yet, which is why it’s so low on this list, but his film and stars were nominated and not him? That’s cold, Hollywood.
8. Jonathan Slavin (“Better off Tedd’s” Phil) - An underrated actor on an underrated show. Both hilarious.
9. Zooey Deschanel (“500 Days of Summer’s” Summer). Psh, if Joseph Gordon-Levitt was nominated, then she certainly should have been. I loved her in this film…of course, I love her in everything.
10. Dollhouse - Except for perhaps Whedon himself, no one person deserved a nomination. However, it is still the most interesting program out there (for at least a little while longer) and it’s made me think more than any other show. Can you say the same, “Entourage?” I thought not.

Any snubs you’re angry about or want to yell at me about my choices? Throw them in the comments. Go on, do it! You know you want to.

The End of The Flight

Sad news. Sad face. Flight of the Conchords has offically been cancelled - not by HBO, but by Bret and Jemaine.

New Zealand comedy duo Flight of the Conchords have announced they will not make a new series of their TV show. The cult HBO sitcom, about two aspiring musicians in New York, was nominated for two Emmys last year.

Writing on their website, Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement said: “The less we say about the future of the show, the more people want to talk about it … So in an effort to reverse this trend we are today announcing that we won’t be returning for a third season.”

The added: “While the characters Bret and Jemaine will no longer be around, the real Bret and Jemaine will continue to exist.” (BBC News)

Aw, I knew in the distant future, all humans would be dead and robots would rule, but I never thought there wouldn’t be Flight. That’s just depressing.