A look at what people are watching, reading, listening to, and learning about
Top Five Movies
1. Paul Blart: Mall Cop (PG)
2. Gran Torino (R)
3. My Bloody Valentine (3D) (R)
4. Notorious (R)
5. Hotel for Dogs (PG)
Notables: In an article for Time.com, Richard Corliss writes that "picture attendance often rises in hard times; what's bad for the economy is good for movies." And which movies do better than others? Those we would often label as "disreputable pleasures." To put it simply: we so badly want a distraction from all that's bad, that we'll settle for watching movies that are?well?bad. Call me crazy, but I don't think Paul Blart: Mall Cop is going to be dissected by film school students twenty years from now. But right now, people can't get enough of it. It's silly slapstick, and with wars raging, stocks plummeting, and uncertainty reigning supreme, we just want to laugh over something mindless, harmless - even if the jokes are well beyond played out.
Or, we just want to hang out with someone we've known for a really long time.
Or, we want to seek solace from man's best friend. This whole dog-movie phenomenon is up there with the revival of vampires. Just two weekends ago, my wife sat on our couch transfixed by?The Ugly Dachshund. But in the spirit of transparency, so did I. But not because of the dogs. Because Dean Jones is one of my childhood heroes.
Or, we just want to find comfort through being scared senseless (My Bloody Valentine). I've written about this before, but I think we flock to horror movies in times of uncertainty for two reasons: (1) we need some type of release, and a good scream provides as much in spades; (2) when we watch a story about someone in dire straits, unable to do something about it, we actually feel better about our situation, which we can do at least a little something about (which is all sort of sick when you think about it.
As for any other news, I'm sure you know by now that the Oscar nominations were announced yesterday. Benjamin Button was curious enough to get 13 nods (just one shy of tying an Academy record).
Top Five Books (according to USA Today research)
1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw, by Jeff Kinney
2. New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer
3. Breaking Dawn, by Stephenie Meyer
4. Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer
5. Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer
Notables: The irony is just too much: it took a wimpy kid to finally take down a vampire. Have you heard about the "Wimpy Kid" series? I wish these books would have been around when I was in fifth grade. They would have given me hope. In fact, it sounds like they are giving a lot of hope to a lot of little guys and gals. Check out this article on USAToday.com.
Top Five Albums
1. Fearless, Taylor Swift
2. I Am?Sasha Fierce, Beyonce
3. Dark Horse, Nickelback
4. Notorious (movie soundtrack), Various Artists
5. 808s & Heartbreak, Kanye West
Notables: The only newbie on this list is the
Top Singles
1. "Just Dance," Lady GaGa (featuring Colby O'Donis)
2. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," Beyonce
3. "Heartless," Kanye West
4. "Live Your Life," T.I. (featuring Rihanna)
5. "Love Story," Taylor Swift
Notables: This is exactly the same list as last week.
Top Five Web Searches (according to Google Trends)
*Exercise caution when searching; some topics may be inappropriate.
1.
2. veatrice rice
3. kirsten gillibrand
4.
5. jimmy kimmel
Notables: I think it's best if I leave items 1 and 3 off the list. I will offer only this: both items had to do with last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Items 2 and 4 have to do with the death of a popular security guard (Veatrice Rice) at the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. She had been battling cancer.
As for item 3, Kirsten Gillibrand is a second-term congresswoman, plucked from upstate New York to fill the vacant Senate seat left by Hilary Clinton (who is now serving as Secretary of State). Gillibrand snuck in when Caroline Kennedy suddenly dropped her name from consideration.
Posted by Brian Lowery at 10:01 AM on January 22, 2009
