Ladies & Gentlemen, I present: Step Up and Found

The Step Up Series is very near and dear to Jimmy and me.  We love them SO much.  Step Up: Revolution was the fourth installment of the Step Up franchise.  After the disastrous Step Up: 3D, the crew came back with a spectacular fourth film,   Step Up: Revolution.  One of our all-time favorite Step Up dances comes from this film.  It’s just MAGICAL.  But Jimmy made it even MORE MAGICAL.  See what happens when he replaces the music that was in the movie with “Lost & Found” by Katie Herzig.  It’s just the greatest thing ever.  Please enjoy.

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PVOTD: “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars

This video needs no explaining.  I love the shit out of this song.  It’s the most fun thing ever.  I have not been exposed to much Mark Ronson, but brother, I’m all in.  Also, pay attention to the editing of this video because it is top-notch.  Jimmy and I are constantly pulling our hair out over music video directors who DON’T CUT ON THE BEAT!  This editor knows whats up, and he did a wonderful job.  These guys are super ridiculous nerds, but they pull it off and it’s so great.  There’s nothing like a good Uptown Funk dance party.

“The Flick” by the other Annie Baker

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Usually when your parents hack your social media accounts and read all your posts, it turns into a nightmare. In my case, it turns into unexpected presents. Example: I tweet about my favorite type of Ritz cracker, and my mom sends me six boxes of Ritz crackers for my birthday.

Now, for those who are not aware, I have a name twin. She is a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright named Annie Baker, as a matter of fact. Recently our paths have crossed. Well not really. Basically, a film festival used her picture on my badge (the picture above, actually) and a Dallas Newspaper mentioned me in a tweet thinking my twitter handle was hers. Point of the story – I tweeted a photo of an article about the opening of her most recent Pulitzer Prize winning play, “The Flick,” and made a dumb joke. A few days later, an Amazon delivery shows up at my house. My mom sent me a copy of “The Flick.” Boom! Social media delivers.

So here we are, and I have read “The Flick.” I have to preface this one. I read a lot of fucking plays in college. But that was a long time ago now, and I’m not used to reading them. I forget that they are way better when performed, and it’s often difficult to see the full effect when reading the script. That being said, I had a bit of an issue with some of the dialogue. It didn’t feel natural a lot of the time and the film snob kid was pretty insufferable with his rants on “cinema.” I hate the word “cinema.” The reason for my preface is that there were quite a few legit moments throughout the play that made me think the dialogue could be fixed with a good performance.

I can’t say I loved it, but I am glad I read it. It makes me curious to read one that is not centered around cinephiles. But this is not a sign for my mom to send me more books. Stop buying me things! But this was nice though.

PVOTD: “Elastic Heart” by Sia

This video was an emotional ROLLERCOASTER for me.  First off, I love the “Chandelier” video.  If you haven’t seen that one, I recommend making this a double feature.  It makes me sad that Sia was pressured into apologizing for offending people who found Shia LaBeouf’s character to be a pedophile.  It’s sad to apologize to people for being dumbasses.  Anywho, the point is, I think Sia is a talented lady who makes beautiful art.  Also, I’m a lifer in the Shia LaBeouf Fan Club.  I think he is a phenomenal talent and I hope he gets to prove it more in the future.  I think they both should be damn proud of their performance because it makes me cry every time.

“The Cuckoo’s Calling” by Robert Galbraith

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I was going to make an Eminem/Slim Shady joke here, but then I came to my senses.  I enjoyed the CRAP out of this book.  I just think JK Rowling is wonderful at writing characters and relationships.  This Strike/Robin duo is FANTASTIC.  I am all in on Strike.  He’s just the right amount of snark without going full House M.D.

Another aspect I liked – all the pop culture stuff was pretty legit.  There weren’t any awkward “she put in her headphones and carefully selected Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’ on her iPod” moments.  (Side Note: Fifty Shades of Grey is my FAVE example of this.  We’ll address this soon.)  What I mean is, when she writes dialogue for people under the age of 30, it doesn’t sound like a caricature of a young person.  (Point JK Rowling’s attention to her kids, I think.)

All that aside, this is just a great private detective novel.  It’s got everything – humor, relationship drama, gruesome murders, and lots of drugs and alcohol related activities.

Extra Feature: It’s British, so you get all kinds of fun British jargon and customs.

I say job well done, Mr. Galbraith.  I look forward to the next.

 

PVOTD: The Heart Wants What It Wants

Jimmy and I are long-time Selena Gomez Fans.  This SONG.  The fact that I love it even though it’s clearly about Justin Bieber, goes to show how good the song is.  I mean, if I were in a rocky relationship, this would be my JAM.  Also, may I say that while I usually really hate this new trend of doing a dialogue breakdown or intro in the song, Selena Gomez rocked that shit.  Know why?  Because she’s actually a really good actress.  And gurl knows how to cry.