10 Things I Like

This is my favorite feature to do, so I figured that my blog resurrection should include this. Here is is, the 10 Things I really like right now.

This TV Show

Mad Men

Don Draper, you are slightly closed minded and a serial adulter, but holy smokes do I love you. Jon Hamm plays the leading man in this popular TV show that I recently got into thanks to Netflix. I absolutely love it. It's smart and visceral, and it makes you think. Unlike the usual zingy, face paced world of TV, this show isn't afraid to take it's time so it can really pack an emotional punch. It does this often, since I cry pretty much every 3-4 episodes. My favorite seasons were the first and fourth, but really they are all wonderful. 

This Song

"Heart Skips A Beat" by Olly Murs

As my friend Kathryn would say, "why are all the good ones imports?!" Olly Murs is another winner from the UK X-Factor, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got talent. With a distinct voice, plenty of charisma and glee, and very interesting instrumentation to back it up, he puts out a very fun song. The American single includes Chiddy Bang, but both versions are excellent. It's just a fun pop song with a modern, slightly throwback production. The world can never have enough of those. 

This Actor

Chris Hemsworth

Of all, of all the Hemsworths, Chris is my favorite. I mean, the man is basically a real life Disney prince. He's a fine actor with plenty of charisma and it doesn't hurt that the man is really really really ridiculously good looking. He's also happily married with a baby and can tell an amusing, non-boring story about being a parent on a talk show. He's the total package!

This Actress/Writer/Director/Awesome person

Lena Dunham

Lena Dunham is pretty much my hero. Well, okay, that's a little over the top, but I really do admire any 25-year-old who has her own show and is so unafraid to be naked. Lena's show is funny, touching, hopeful, and terribly honest. 'Girls' was something I was prepared to loathe and instead I loved it. The seventh episode, "Welcome to Bushwick, aka The Crackcident" was my favorite half hour of TV ever. 

This Book

"The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green

Everyone who I discuss books with knows that I simply adore John Green. His book came out at the beginning of the year, and I'm still thinking about it now (it's August, by the way). The book is about a girl named Hazel who has terminal cancer and falls in love with Agusutus, a boy whose cancer is in remission. They have adventures and John Green's amazing prose will make you love this triumphantly sad, and surprisingly hopeful, novel. Also, he makes Indianapolis sound cool. 

This Album

'Electra Heart' by Marina and the Diamonds 

I simply love things that are fun to listen to, and this album is just that. The album is infused with electro-beats and sung by a girl who sounds like she's talking, instead of singing (in a good way). It's like the musical version of being in some diva's backstage dressing room. There's no one out there like Marina and the Diamonds. They're part pin-up girl, part European club goer, part mysterious chanteuse. 

This Website

Grantland

Though I barely understand professional basketball (someone teach me), I've been following Bill Simmons, a great writer whose written for past publications such as Sports Illustrated, on Twitter for a long time. Naturally, when he launched his website Grantland, which comments on both pop culture and sports, I was immediately hooked. I love when people can write intelligently and still make it appealing, and the writers on this website almost always accomplish this. Also, I enjoy listening to the BS Report podcast, especially when people like Lena Dunham and Chuck Klosterman stop by. 

This Movie

'The Kids Are All Right'

I spend most of my movie watching time watching films for my 2012 project, but this is one I discovered recently though it hit it's cultural height two years ago when it was nominated for a slew of awards at the Oscars, including Best Picture. I love this movie because it has a few principal cast members, all of whom are excellent, and it tells a very simple story about a family. It's well done from every angle. I only wish I had seen this when it came out!

This Restaurant

The Sink

Boulder is such a college town, right? Well, that doesn't mean this post-grad can't enjoy the food. The Sink is a popular place on the hill that serves very delicious burgers. It's a huge restaurant, yet it feels like a hole-in-the wall. The low ceilings and the freedom to graffiti the walls makes it feel like an undiscovered place, even though Obama went there (and subsequently some poor girl spilled her yogurt on him). 

This Singer

Ed Sheeran

I guess all the musical entries will be British-themed. Ed Sheeran is someone I found by simply going over to the BBC website to see what's on the charts across the pond (I do this regularly because I'm a weirdo...and the Brits sometimes have better taste). He's a singer-songwriter who strongly resembles Ron Weasley, but certainly does not sound like him. A gifted guitarist who loves music (he often plays solo and relies on looping, or "playing with pedals" as I call it), he writes songs with quirky lyrics. Though some of the tracks on his debut album, +, are juvenile, he shows real potential and maturity on tracks like "Lego House" and "Small Bump." His best track, and the one on American radio now, is "The A-Team." It's officially the best song about a heroine-addicted prostitute since....well, I don't know many others about that particular subject. Still, he's great. Keep and eye on him. 

In which Emily has lots of thoughts and feelings about 'The Dark Knight Rises'

So I really enjoyed 'The Dark Knight Rises' and that surprised me. I had very low expectations going into the film because I only watched two trailers and I avoided spoilers, clips of scenes, and reviews. I'm so glad I did this because it really allowed me to look at the movie with fresh eyes and so much of it was unexpected. I may have to start doing this from now on!

There's been a lot of talk about how this final film holds up to the rest of the trilogy. Here's the thing; none of the movies in the Dark Knight trilogy are bad. In fact, all three of them are really good stand alone films. The third had an epicness to it that the other two don't. It's fitting for a finale though. I enjoyed the third movie the most, though I think it will be the second movie, 'The Dark Knight,' that stands the test of time the most. It was the movie that changed super hero movies, it has one of the best villians of all time, and it really made people sit up and pay attention to Christopher Nolan. 

All of the characters in TDKR had their own story line and I thought Nolan & Co. balanced them all very well. What was interesting to me was how Bane was such a terrifying force in the first two acts, and then in the third act he takes a step back and lets chaos reign. We find out that he is really just single minded, and it's not on destruction, but on saving someone he loves. 

(Side note: I had no trouble understanding him, but I can see why some people did)

There's also been a lot of chatter about the Batman trilogy and how they are reflections of our post-9/11 world, particularly the chaos that's reflected in 'The Dark Knight.' It's not hard to miss the political sub-text in this film either, but for me I was more concerned with seeing how Batman was going to overcome his own psychological demons in the wake of a changing and sometimes rebellious world. 

Speaking of Bruce Wayne, how awesome is Christian Bale? I sometimes forget he acts so differently in real life and I'm always taken aback when I see his interviews. He's a fabulous actor. The journey he took as Batman is remarkable. He can be a badass who shows up out of nowhere to save the day, but he can also be a broken recluse. 

In the grand tradition of other hero journeys, Batman has to go to the underworld and emerge unscathed. Bruce Wayne has to literally go to the pit of hell, conquer his fear, and emerge triumphant. The journey back to the prison where it all began was a great way to tie in the first movie. 

My only complaint about the movie was the Miranda Tate story line. I thought the big reveal about her came out of nowhere. I would have liked a little more warning. That may have been Nolan's intention though. He may want to show how truly surprising people can be, especially when they are evil, which she clearly is. I felt bad for Bruce though. I mean, Miranda may have been a rebound, but still, can't the poor guy catch a break?! Oh well, it gave us a sexy scene was a shirtless, hunky Christian Bale and I will never complain about seeing him in his Batman physique. 

I thought the ending was fitting. Though I feel like many super hero films require the man guy to make the ultimate sacrifice for the good of the city (like Tony Stark/Iron Man in 'The Avengers'), I really did think Bruce Wayne could be dead because with Nolan films, you really never know. I like that he simply gave himself a blank slate, something that Selina Kyle (otherwise known as Catwoman, who I also enjoyed) wanted as well. 

I saved my favorite part for last, which is Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He's my favorite in a lot of things, but I thought he was the best in this film, which is hard if you're playing an idealistic cop. He was great though. I loved the ending that showed his taking up the torch, so to speak. Anyone else catch what his real name was and chuckle? I did. I love it when things tie in like that, especially when I don't see them coming. 

I feel very satisfied to the ending of the trilogy, which I can't say happens at the end of series (example: The Hunger Games), though I am sort of sad Nolan won't be around to make more great super hero movies. That's okay though because if the short film that dubbed as a trailer for Superman is any indication, I think there are more films to look forward to.