http://popculture.shaunline.com/ Popular Culture topics including, but not limited to: movies, music, television, sports, books, internet, celebrities, etc. en-us me@shaunline.com 2006-02-08T19:59:58-08:00 hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2006/01/murderball.php To call this an inspirational story would be an injustice of sorts to the people/athletes featured in the movie. Murderball, as Team USA spokesman Mark Zupan might tell you, is not a mushy feel good story about handicapped people finding success. It is a portrait of unique personalities and stories that make up the world of quad rugby, a sport that just so happens to be played in wheel chairs. 176@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ dvd 2006-01-12T12:06:07-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2006/01/king-kong.php By now everyone knows the story: Peter Jackson, as a young New Zealand boy, sees 1933’s King Kong on television, and from that moment is driven to become a filmmaker. I myself have never seen the entirety of the original Kong (though it’s high on my Netflix queue at the moment), so I was going into the theater with the same fresh eyes Peter Jackson had all those years ago. The fact that I didn’t come out quite as inspired as Jackson cannot dampen my sincere enjoyment of this amazing spectacle of moviemaking. 174@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2006-01-09T14:10:08-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/televisions-top-13-2005.php TV is an interesting medium these days. 2005 will probably go down in history as the first year that time-shifted television truly broke out. Sure, Tivo had its first cultural moment with Janet's Super Bowl fiasco in 2004, but with Tivo, the ubiquitous "on demand" cable offerings and now iTunes, TV is starting to go beyond the old days of "appointment viewing." All rules are being thrown out the window, and the same can be said for this list. What follows is not really a Top 13, but a series of 13 lists. Some are short, some are long. All are essential viewing. Put down the remote and enjoy. 171@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ Articles 2005-12-21T20:38:13-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/top-13-concerts-2005.php In a year which I saw nearly 3 times as many live music performances (31) as movies in the theater (11), this was a tough list to put together. Much like my movie list though (which will probably show up sometime mid-2006), this list features a swell of repeat viewings. I managed to see many of my favorite acts multiple times this year, and my list will reflect that. My list also reflects not only the performers and performance, but the extraneous details of the show. When you get down to it, going to a live show you always want to see something spontaneous, original and unique. The list reflects that as well. So with the exposition out of the way, here we go with another list of the Top 13/Best of 2005. 170@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ Articles 2005-12-17T10:10:03-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/top-13-albums-2005.php I have a blog, therefore I am required by law to publish my annual best-of list for the year in music. Rest assured I will follow some, but not all, of the rules of year-end lists. Also, please note that while I hate commercial radio and much of what is played on it, I am no indie yuppie or music snob. I like what I like, from the mainstream to the obscure, and my list reflects that. So here we go, counting down from 13 to 1. 169@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ Articles 2005-12-15T23:35:00-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/the-island.php 168@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-15T13:39:06-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/willy-wonka.php I watched this the other night, just a couple of weeks after I saw (and panned) the gaudy remake with Johnny Depp. Strangely, the original, while warmer and filled with less artifice, made me appreciate the new one more than I had upon first viewing. Wonka loses points for deviating often from the original story, but gains a lot from the performances of the two young girls, Denise Nickerson (Violet) and Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca), and Gene Wilder as the titular candy icon. 165@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-13T10:22:30-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/sisterhood-traveling-pants.php Every once in a while I like to see a completely forgettable “cute” movie. It's like food: sure you could have prime rib all the time, but every once in a while it's great to have some meatloaf. I chose this ground beef over so many other similar options for its young stars: America Ferrera (Real Women Have Curves), Alexis Bleidel (Gilmore Girls) and Amber Tamblyn (Joan of Arcadia). Besides, I heard it was actually pretty good, even if you weren’t a twelve-year-old girl. After watching the movie last week, I submit that it’s an enjoyable little movie for everyone, even adult males (and not just for the eye candy). 166@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-11T10:38:56-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/march-of-the-penguins.php I love penguins, always have. They're fuzzy, regal, cute, cuddly, birdy and well-dressed. Being a penguiphile (made that word up just now), I'm obviously a bit late on the bandwagon for this movie, not only one of the surprise hits of the summer, but one of the biggest documentaries of all time. On the surface, this is nothing more than a feature-length National Geographic special, but unlike those distant, observatory "educational" docs, March of the Penguins rises to the level of great movie because of one thing: storytelling. 163@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-08T00:45:07-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/of-penguins-and-men.php In this accompanying documentary to the surprise megahit of 2005 March of the Penguins, we see the difficulty it took to make the marvelous feature-length doc through the eyes of cinematographer Jerome Maison. While not quite as affecting as March, Maison's video journal of sorts gives a fascinating, often more personal look into the lives of the penguins and filmmakers during this long winter. 161@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-07T23:52:30-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/fantastic-four.php 160@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-07T12:46:29-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/ice-harvest.php I had some hopes (not high, but some) for this movie, considering the players: starring John Cusack and Billy Bob Thornton, directed by Harold Ramis. I knew going in that the reviews were generally favorable, and I was expecting a wild black comedy in the vein of Cusack's Grosse Pointe Blank or even Billy Bob Thornton's Bandits. The movie, stuck between farce and noir, was mildly amusing and slightly mysterious, but never enough of one or the other. 158@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-05T18:51:33-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/finding-neverland.php I finally got around to seeing this movie on dvd, and while it doesn't rank in my top 5 like it did at the Oscars last year, this is an affecting and occasionally inspiring movie about creativity, hope and vitality in the face of, well, life. The first (and still best) Johnny Depp/Freddie Highmore collaboration utilizes the standard Miramax biopic formula to tell the story of J.M. Barrie, but the actors and director Marc Forster (Monster's Ball) keep it from succumbing to overt tear-jerker status. 155@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-12-05T00:51:07-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/12/top-13-movies-2004.php 2005 is almost over, so I figured I could finally publish my list of the top 13 movies of last year. Why 13? Because 10 is played out, and 13 is my number of choice. Why now? Because in this day and age, with movie theaters filled with more ads than television, more annoying crowds than a football game, topped off by escalating ticket prices, can you blame a guy for waiting 3-4 months for DVDs to come out? So without further adieu, here's my list of the Top 13 Movies of 2004. Can you guess what #1 is? 157@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ Articles 2005-12-03T12:08:46-08:00 http://popculture.shaunline.com/archives/2005/11/review-harry-potter-4.php 144@http://popculture.shaunline.com/ film 2005-11-29T12:12:23-08:00