Pop Culture November

I haven't been keeping this up weekly. I apologize. But here's what's been great during the month of November, a notoriously great month for pop culture:

Television

Doctor Who 50th Anniversary
I finally caught up with Doctor Who just in time for the 50th anniversary, and I'm so glad I did. "The Day of the Doctor" is everything you want in an anniversary special: nostalgic callbacks,

David Tennant and Matt Smith playing off each other, crazy shenanigans, and a purpose for the series moving forward. As much as I loved "The Last Time Lord" of the past seven years, that story had played itself out, and I'm excited to see what Peter Capaldi will do going forward. I'm going to miss Matt Smith terribly though--I think he's officially my favorite doctor. Despite the baby face, you can't help but believe that this man is 1200 years old, and Smith's ability to turn from whimsical to terrifying in a split second is unrivaled. I'm going to be a wreck during the Christmas special.

I also caught the TV movie An Adventure in Space and Time, about William Hartnell (the first doctor) and the making of Doctor Who. I learned a lot about the origins of this everlasting British timepiece: that the first producer was a woman, that the executives originally didn't want "bug-eyed monsters and tin robots," and the heartbreaking decision behind the first regeneration. I believe it's time to start up the classic series.

Pretty people.

Reign
I have a love/hate relationship with the CW. Most of it seems trashy on the surface, and I know I should spend my time watching better programming. But no other network is quite as ridiculously fun and entertaining, and on a weekly basis I find myself looking forward to watching The Vampire Diaries, Arrow, and Nikita more than most other shows. What I love about these shows, other than the very attractive casts that I'm positive are bred and stored in a lab, are the balls-to-the-wall crazy plots filled with snappy dialogue, fun action, and over-the-top drama.

New addition Reign is no exception. It's probably the most CW-y of all the shows on the network right now. Someone on the Internet described it as Gossip Girl meets Game of Thrones, which is as accurate a description as any. It's very loosely based off the life of Mary Queen of Scots, although it doesn't care about historical accuracy whatsoever, and it's all the better for it. The plots are crazy, the costumes are gorgeous, Adelaide Kane plays a convincing teenage queen, and did I mention there are pagan sacrifices and ghosts, just to spice it up a little? It's definitely my new obsession. I mean, there's a hunky Nostradamus. It doesn't get much better than that.

Other new shows that have lasted from the original guide:
Trophy Wife
Sleepy Hollow
Brooklyn Nine-Nine (As a Brooklyn resident, the "Sal's Pizza" episode had me rolling)
The Originals
Masterchef Junior

Additionally: This season of Survivor has been great. The finale of The Legend of Korra was epic but made very little sense. Raising Hope is back! Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is perhaps the biggest disappointment. It's just so boring, which is the last thing I wanted to say about a Whedon-produced superhero show. Perhaps it can still get its act together.

Film

I've seen a lot of movies this month, so I'm gonna make this quick:

12 Years a Slave: Brilliant. Will win all the awards, and rightly so. I don't know if I can watch it again for a long time, however, but it's something I believe everyone should see. It's the story of one of humanity's biggest blights, depicted in one of the most real and heartbreaking ways I've seen.

About Time: If you're a fan of Love Actually (and if you have a soul, you should be), then you'll enjoy this. I was actually pleasantly surprised by how it dealt with the time-travel aspect. It was very low-key and lovely.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: It was much better than the first movie, but without the strong performances, these movies would just fall apart. The first half that deals with the consequences of the first games is much more interesting than when they go to the arena again, but that's how I felt about the book too.

Frozen: The marketing for this movie made me skeptical going in, but I actually really enjoyed it. I love when Disney inverts their own tropes and this is probably their most feminist movie yet, so of course I was going to love it for that reason alone. And you'll be singing "Let It Go" for the rest of the day after seeing this. I'm still humming it a day later.

Thor: The Dark World: Needed more Loki.

YouTube

Edgar Allan Poe has a vlog. Brilliance ensues.

My friend Eden has started a great new series called "The Couch Series" that highlights the amazing artists of the Provo music scene. Really enjoyable stuff.

Music

I've basically just been jamming to Lorde's album, "Pure Heroine," all month long.

Other things:

• Late October was the New York Television Festival, where I saw some animated pilots (that weren't that great, unfortunately) and heard from Greg Daniels, creator of The Office and Parks and Recreation, who gave his advice on comedy writing. I don't have a huge desire to be a writer, although I love hearing about the behind-the-scenes of my favorite shows and am a faithful listener of the Nerdist Writers podcast, so hearing his perspective on what makes great comedy (the characters, not the situations) was really fascinating.
• I also attended "Behind-the-Scenes with The Colbert Report" as part of the New York Comedy Festival and fell more in love with Stephen Colbert, which I didn't believe was possible. His ability to turn anything into a bit and to mine jokes from literally any subject continues to amaze me. Some highlights: saying he's probably 13% of his character, making a fool of the guy who asked how he feels about influencing the millennial generation, admitting his admiration for Maurice Sendak, and the true story behind the Daft Punk Fiasco of 2013.
• It's post-Thanksgiving, which means my family sits in a food coma and watches movies all weekend long. So far we've watched Elf, White Christmas, and Ghostbusters. Sometimes my family is cool.
• This is an important thing you should all read: "Gender Inequality in Film."
• Quick plug for my friend Preston's new blog, Juicebox Critic. He writes about pop culture much more eloquently than I can, and there are some great articles up already. I particularly love his defense of Christmas music before Thanksgiving, since it validates my opinion on the issue. Take that, old roommates.

This Week in Pop Culture

Movies

OUTER SPACE IS REALLY COOL AND REALLY TERRIFYING. That's all I could basically think after watching Gravity. I think my nails were bitten all the way down from the sheer tension I felt watching this spectacular film. First of all, you need to see this in IMAX 3D, or it's basically pointless. Second, prepare to be amazed by Sandra Bullock, who carries this film pretty much by herself. And third, I never, ever, want to be an astronaut...as cool as the views may be.

Television

Season 5 of The Vampire Diaries is off to a great start, with great acting by Paul Wesley, playing an evil character this season, and human Katherine, still just as devious as when she was a vampire. The plots already seem more fun than the dregs of last season (ugh sire bond), and I'm so excited to see Rippahhh Stefan again.

I took Glee off my Hulu queue this year, but of course I had to watch Cory Monteith's tribute episode. And I couldn't help myself; I definitely cried. Especially when Rachel was singing her song; you could tell Lea Michele wasn't acting in that moment. Heartbreaking.

New shows I'm enjoying so far: The Tomorrow People, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. 

YouTube

The Autobiography of Jane Eyre is a great modern adaptation of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. This recent episode ingeniously sums up Jane's backstory in a Draw My Life video, consolidating the most boring part of the book in about four minutes. Brilliance.

Also, here's my new diet video where I attempt to make a healthy omelette and fail miserably.

Theater

So I have my name in a playbill. No big deal. The musical is called "Orphan Train" and it was performed to celebrate Grand Central Terminal's 100th anniversary. It was a cute play about the importance of trying to stop children from falling through the cracks. I'll let you know of future performances if they happen!

News

Here's a great article by Linda Holmes on sexism in Survivor. You all know I love this show, but there's no denying that it has some serious issues at its core. Which are not helped at all by misogynistic Jeff Propst, as great as I sometimes find him when ripping a new one on a certain Colton Cumbie.

So many great guest stars on Community...whenever it returns.

These Weeks in Pop Culture

Things have gotten a little backlogged. I apologize. Lots to cover:

Movies

Let's see, when I did last do a TWPC? September 8? Sheesh. Well good thing I've only seen one new movie, Rush. A Ron Howard biopic that somehow makes race car driving both sexy and filled with nail-biting anxiety, I quite enjoyed this one. Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl were extremely well cast, and their  rivalry was intense. Like, battle-to-the-death intense. It's crazy what some men will do to get well, a rush. 

Television

I think I mentioned fall TV has started? Well now you know what's taken up so much of my time. ANYWAY. The Parks and Recreation premiere was perfect and way better than a 6th season premiere deserves to be. I still love hanging out with those characters each week. And Andy Dwyer is getting way too attractive. It was a little distracting.

I've really enjoyed Brooklyn Nine-Nine so far. The Michael J. Fox Show is ok. New Girl is great like always, and I really hope this is the Year of Winston. The color-blind American citizen deserves it. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. was as fun as a premiere as I had hoped (ily Clark Gregg). And Survivor is as crazy as I had hoped it would be. I actually like the loved ones camp a little better than the returnee's. Mostly because that tribe doesn't have Colton Freakin' Cumbie. (Also, RIP Rupert. NOT)

Also, I've caught up to season 6 on Doctor Who. Steven Moffat is a mind-blowing genius and Matt Smith is a world treasure. That is all.

Lessons to live by.

Theater

BIG FISH. EVERYONE GO SEE BIG FISH. Probably Tim Burton's last great movie, Big Fish is one of my favorites. And the musical is everything I hoped. And more. I bawled like a baby at the ending, which was even more emotional than the movie. And Norbert Leo Butz. What a brilliant performer. He's on stage literally 98% of the time and doesn't miss a beat. I'm obsessed and will be seeing this again soon once it's out of previews.

I also saw Cinderella, which was cute and has some great costume changes, but really. Go see Big Fish.

So so good. 

Music

Wheelchair Jimmy, I mean Drake, has a new album and I'm quite diggin it. I don't quite get all this "Started from the Bottom" nonsense though since he basically started as a child star on a hit Canadian show. Maybe he considers Canadian shows the bottom? Nevertheless it's a fun album to listen to surrounded by my sistas on the subway.

Guilty pleasure of the moment: Miley Cyrus' "Wrecking Ball." It's catchy ok? Although this Daily Grace basically sums up my feelings of the music video:

YouTube

Do you guys know about Arturo Trejo's channel? They're a Mormon couple with the cutest son ever and their videos are HILARIOUS. Their last two videos especially had me in stitches.

News

Breaking Bad finale is happening as we speak. I'm still in the middle of season two, so I'm trying to avoid Twitter for the next few days.

Merritt Weaver's speech from the Emmy's is literally the best thing I've seen these past few weeks. She's my new hero.

Also, for those of you who don't know, I've started a vlog of my very own, chronicling my diet and my quest to get healthy. Many thanks to Jenny who visited last weekend and helped on my last video.

That's it for now. I wrote this all really fast because I want to go to sleep so I apologize for the choppy sentences. But I'm not really that sorry.

 Happy Sunday!

This Week in Pop Culture

Yeah, I skipped last week. Sorry, I was just busy MOVING TO BROOKLYN and STARTING A NEW JOB.

So here's my pop culture list from the last two weeks. Obviously it's not too much because I was slightly busy.

Movies

My mom came last weekend to help me move and we had mother-daughter bonding time watching the Audrey Hepburn classic. Neither of us had seen it before for some strange reason. At first I wondered what all the fuss was about, but by the end I got it. What girl hasn't thought like Holly Golightly at least once? Men are rats or super rats. The trick is in finding our own Fred.

I was slightly disappointed they never actually ate breakfast at Tiffany's though.

Television

I finally finished season 4 of Doctor Who, which was a mega-fest of all the great characters during Russell Davies' reign. I may have teared up a bit at Tennant's "I don't want to go." I'm on episode 3 of season 5, and I'm enjoyed the manic silliness of Matt Smith so far. And Karen Gillan's face is simply unfair.

Also this week was the SYTYCD finahhhle, as Cat Deeley says. I love all four them. I couldn't vote. Why was Gabby Douglas on the panel? I don't think she said one interesting thing. Also I'm obsessed with Mark Kanemura's choreography:

Theater

I saw Matilda with mom last weekend, and I loved it. I loved the movie when I was little (and consquently became scared of wearing pigtails henceforth) and thought the Broadway adaptation was really fun. And a little darker than I was expecting. That Miss Trunchbull is a nasty piece of work. The little girl who played Matilda was phenomenal, though. She was what, nine years old? Makes you question what you've been doing with your own life.

YouTube/Music

This video is a thing that exists on the Internet and the world is a better place because of it.

News

FALL TV IS ALMOST HERE!! I'll post a list like I did last year of all the shows I'm looking forward to, both new and old.

That's about it for now. I'm seeing Big Fish on Broadway this week, and I am so freaking excited. Stay tuned for a longer review on that.

This Week in Pop Culture

Movies

Yesterday I saw Short Term 12 and bawled my eyes out. But in a good way? This indie about a foster home and the kids and adults that try to build a community regardless of their difficult circumstances was absolutely beautiful and eye-opening. Brie Larson and John Gallagher Jr. were brilliant. as were the kids who played Marcus and Jayden. Everyone go see it when it comes to a theater near you.

Television

I'm in the middle of season four of Doctor Who. I'm actually really enjoying Donna as a companion, despite initially hating her in the Christmas special. She's toned down on the shrillness and I love that she doesn't fawn over the doctor. It was cute with Rose but got old real quick with Martha. Donna isn't afraid to tell it like it is. I'm also really enjoying the deeper themes of the Doctor's sense of morality--who's ok to save, and who isn't? It's a tricky philosophical question in any circumstance but I think the show is handling it quite well.

YouTube

I just love this meme because I really think it encapsulates a lot about where the entertainment industry is headed and that New Hollywood is really starting to come from today's YouTubers.

I'm obsessed with half of these people (did you know Zoe and Alfie are dating in real life? I can't even get over it), and YouTube really is starting to churn out people into more mainstream Hollywood projects. For instance, comedian Noel Kristi of YouTube fame just recently got cast on SNL. Go her!

News

The VMAs are happening right now and I am not watching them. According to my Twitter feed, however, Taylor Swift is saying dirty things off camera, Miley is saying dirty things on camera, and Gaga is acting crazy. So the usual. I'll catch the highlights on Buzzfeed tomorrow.

BEN AFFLECK AS BATMAN. I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING ABOUT THIS.

I'm sure he'll be great. I mean, he's already played a superhero, right? Right???

This Week In Pop Culture

Movies

The Truman Show

Up until middle school, before my acting career was destroyed,* I used to pretend that I was starring in a giant movie about my life. That everyone around me were extras, and people in some far off planet were enjoying the story of my life. Now, it would make a pretty boring story, but I thought it was a pretty imaginative idea. Turns out it's not so original, or Peter Weir has the same brain as me, because I finally got around to watching The Truman Show. I heard about it a few years ago but was turned off by the Jim Carrey-ness of it. Turns out Carrey does a fine job here, and literally everything about this film was how I pictured the logistics of the scenario. The mise-en-scene, structure, cinematography... everything was perfect and built like little puzzle pieces that reveal more and more of this world as you go. Absolutely brilliant. And that ending. Gave me chills. 

*I auditioned for the 7th grade production of The Three Musketeers, so confident in my skills in the dramatic arts. Let me preface this by saying that if you don't make the cast, they put you in the crew.  I didn't even make the crew. Needless to say it was a crushing disappointment and my pursuit of the theater was short-lived.

Elysium

In a film not as good as District 9, Neill Blomkamp goes for a more heavy-handed allegory here about immigration in a sci-fi setting. But it was visually beautiful, and it had Matt Damon, so I can't complain too much. I guess I just had too high of expectations after District 9. Blomkamp seems to be a one-trick pony.

Music

Stomp

I first saw a video of Stomp in fifth grade, and I attribute my pursuit of percussion in middle school and high school to that moment. I wanted to be as cool as those guys. Of course I never quite acquired Stomp-like drumming skills (this is just a post full of my failures, huh?) but I've always appreciated a good beat using anything and everything you can find in the world around you. Seeing this show live was unreal. Knowing the basics of percussion, I can't even get over how hard some of that stuff was. And it's hilarious. I mean, just check out this newspaper sequence:

Katy Perry's "Roar vs Lady Gaga's "Applause"

Right now I'm feeling "Roar." But that could change in the next hour.

YouTube

I'm a big fan of Hank and John Green, but I've never actually seen the videos that started it all, the Brotherhood 2.0 experiment, where the Vlogbrothers only communicated via video blog for a whole year. So I'm starting from the beginning. It's nice to see that John Green has always been the same smart, hilarious novelist we know and love, and Hank has gotten over some of his earlier creepiness. These brothers making being a nerd awesome. DFTBA.

This Week in Pop Culture

That's right, I'm bringing it back.

Movies

Ok, so I've totally been slacking in this particular department. The last film I saw was Sharknado, which was everything and more, but that was like three weeks ago. I can tell you that I hope to see Fruitvale Station this week, and I already saw The Spectacular Now and Austenland, which premiere this week, at Sundance. I feel like that counts, right? Anyway, everyone should go and see The Spectacular Now (and see that Shailene Woodley is not a fluke and is here to stay) and girls who love Jane Austen should see Austenland. I talk about them in more detail here.

Television

I'm currently cycling through season two of Parenthood, season three of Doctor Who, Orange is the New Black, and Orphan Black (seriously, how does Tatiana Maslany play ALL THOSE CHARACTERS??). What I watch depends on my mood, but they are all brilliant for very different reasons. Here are these reasons, in five words or less:

Parenthood: Real life emotions. Tears. (Sidenote: A mix of Adam Braverman and Nick Miller would make the perfect man. Just saying.)
Doctor Who: David Tennant. Blink.
Orange is the New Black: Strong females. Of all races.
Orphan Black. Tatiana Maslany. Crazy clone shenanigans.

And of course, SYTYCD every Tuesday. We're finally at the Top 10 and can I just say, DAAAANG Aaron and Jasmine. Holy crap.

Books

I actually get a lot of reading done now that I have a long commute on public transportation. I recently read the entire Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner. What a brilliant series. You instantly fall in love with Eugenides, the clever and complaining Thief with a million tricks up his sleeve, and his complicated relationship with Attolia, the Ice Queen with Issues, is so subtle and delicious. I honestly didn't see most of the plot twists coming (especially in the first two books). The only issue I have with it is that at the end things only seem to get done with violence, a moral I don't entirely agree with. But there's enough mind trickery to make up for it.

I've also started JK Rowling's  Robert Galbraith's  The Cuckoo's Calling, which has been enjoyable so far. I'd like to see more of Robin, but the mystery of supermodel Lulu Landry's death has kept me intrigued. I'm about 35% through it.

Music

Jay-Z and JT's "Holy Grail."

YouTube

I recently plowed through the whole series of Your Dad's Friends, which was hilarious and perhaps hit a little too close to home. I've also been obsessed with Miranda Sings, the absolutely hysterical, egotistical character played by Colleen Ballinger who thinks she is the best singer to grace the Internets. Check them out now.

News

1. If you haven't seen Steven Colbert's triumphant reaction to Daft Punk's snubbing, then you're living life wrong.

2. ComicCon and VidCon recently happened and I'm still jealous that I wasn't there.

3. Comedic geniuses literally playing our feelings in the upcoming Pixar movie, Inside Out.

4. And of course, the existence of Orson Welles' Too Much Johnson.


That's it for this last week! What are your recommendations?

This week in pop culture

What I've been obsessed with lately. 

They're scared of the vampires!

Buffy/Angel

I realize I'm like a decade or so late on this, but I'm finally catching up on Joss Whedon's masterworks, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and its spinoff Angel. It's kind of been my summer project. I just got finished watching , "Once More, With Feeling," the season 6 musical episode that many fans and critics regard as one of the best Buffy episodes ever, and I knew it was time to blog about how dang awesome this show is. Really. If you haven't seen it and were like me, being slightly turned off by its geeky fans and demons/vampires premise, then get over it and watch it. It's a much deeper and smarter show than you would first think. Not only does it break every cliche in the book, it also explores some really beautiful themes, such as what it means to live and love and be a leader. Everything's a metaphor for something else. It's both hilarious and dramatic and sometimes downright terrifying. Angel is probably the darker of the two shows, but I'm really digging it as well. And the acting is superb. James Marsters. Enough said.

Anyway, here's a list of my current favorite episodes so far, if you're interested:
- Passions
- School Hard
- Hush
- The Body
- Once More, With Feeling
- The Plyea arc on Angel 

Oh, the only thing I'd recommend is to just get through the first season quickly if you're not that into it. It grew on me halfway through that season, but season 2 and beyond are just leagues above it.

Well, hello there.

SYTYCD

Season 9 baby! I'm so obsessed with this show. The top 20 finally performed this last Wednesday, and they were all superb. I love reality shows where the contestants actually have talent. This was probably my favorite dance from the episode:

Cyrus is probably my favorite guy. He's not the best dancer, but he's just so eager to learn and has such a positive attitude it's almost infectious.

And of course I love the ballroom best friends Lindsay and Witney, representing dear Provo and American Fork, Utah, respectively.


















 You all should check out my friend Callie's blog, where she has a weekly in-depth review of each episode. It's great stuff.

Moonrise Kingdom

I'm a big fan of Wes Anderson (The Royal Tennenbaums and Fantastic Mr. Fox are among my favorite films) so I was pretty excited to see this movie. (Even if it was in hipster territory Pasadena at the Arclight. By myself. Don't worry about it.)  And I loved it. It's very Wes Anderson-y, quirky, colorful, and a little bizarre and absurd, but full of heart and a genuine romanticism. It features two outcast 12-year-olds who fall in love and escape their situations and even though their respite is brief, it was still poignant and special, a chance to get away from their problems and the world. I remember feeling like Susie at that age, so maybe that's why it stuck with me. It's an absolutely beautiful film, both in content, acting, and especially the cinematography and set design. Here's the trailer, in case you haven't seen it.

The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier

Another thing I should have read years ago. This deeply moving novel about a boy who "dares defy the universe" by refusing to participate in his school's cultish chocolate sale is both tragic and makes you think. It had me in tears and was definitely not what I was expecting. You all need to read this book.


This song, that I've loved for months now and totally geeked when I heard it on the radio:

And this song.