This Week in Pop Culture Roundup (Post-Thanksgiving 2011 Edition)

kermit the frog plush toy

If you have been too busy pepper spraying shoppers trying to grab that toy you want, here are some of the pop culture stories from the week that you might have missed.

——— Music ———

No Depression featured an interesting story about a recent encounter with Garth Hudson of The Band.

No Depression also featured a nice review of Glen Campbell on his final tour.

Chimesfreedom
sends our best wishes to The Bee Gees’ Robin Gibb, who is fighting liver cancer.

The Rolling Stones are releasing an expanded reissue of Some Girls, including a song with John Fogerty.

“Does this mean I can play whatever I want?” — Ozzy Osbourne on getting his own music channel on SiriusXM Radio.

“What I do is more like a poke in the ribs than a kick in the face.” – Weird Al Yankovic in Chicago Tribune profile.

Influential jazz drummer and bandleader Paul Motian passed away last week. RIP.

“Cracklin’ Rosie, get on board!” Neil Diamond will tour this summer to support a greatest hits CD.

If you are a fan of The Swell Season, check out this interview with Marketa Irglova about The Swell Season, the new documentary on the band, and her new solo CD.

WhatCulture! has a review of William Shatner’s new CD, Seeking Major Tom. Below is Shatner’s version of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” with his face in the sky of this crazy official video.

——— Movies ———-

“He’s an older Bruce Wayne; he’s not in a great state.” — Christopher Nolan revealing some information on the upcoming The Dark Night Rises, which begins eight years after the last Batman film. William Shatner Calling Major Tom

Slate listed its top five bad movie songs.

Scarlett Johansson will direct a film adaptation of a Truman Capote novella, Summer Crossing.

A new Woody Allen documentary prompted several stories. One article on the film quoted director Robert Weide on Woody Allen: “He doesn’t think of himself as a great artist.’’ Meanwhile, Salon ranked Woody Allen’s 10 Greatest Films. Personally, I think it is a crime that the list does not include Crimes and Misdemeanors.

Kermit the Frog went to the White House on Tuesday. Also, this past week saw country music day at the White House, which included Kris Kristofferson and Lyle Lovett.

The Artist, a new silent film, opened this week to rave reviews.

An international Laurel and Hardy appreciation society meets every week in California near the Hal Roach Studios.

The Muppets are sweet and subversive.” — Los Angeles Times review. In another Muppets-related story, Slate discussed “Mahna Mahna” and how music from an Italian soft-core film became the Muppets’ catchiest song.

——— Television ———

Elizabeth Shue will become a regular on “CSI” starting in February, replacing Marg Helgenberger.

CBS signed up Survivor for two more seasons with Jeff Probst as host and executive producer.

Katy Perry will host Saturday Night Live on Dec. 10.

——— Other News ———

Two former death row inmates whose convictions were each overturned after years on death row were married last week.

Finally, the UC Davis Pepper Spray Cop is now a funny Internet meme. Follow this link if you wish to skip the article and go straight to some very funny photos of the Pepper Spray Cop in unique situations, showing the strength of using humor to fight the powers.


What was your favorite pop culture story this week? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Bob Hope on The Muppet Show

    Bob Hope
    On July 27, 2003, the entertainment world lost a legend when Bob Hope passed away at the age of 100. Hope was born Leslie Townes Hope on May 29, 1903 in England, and his family moved to Cleveland, Ohio when he was four. From there, of course, he went on to become one of the legends of Hollywood.

    Although our notions of humor have changed over time and Christopher Hitchens wrote about how he never found Bob Hope funny, Hope was a persistent presence in our lives for many decades. And whether you found him hilarious or not, he somehow gave us comfort in the way he endured, whether it was in his comedies with Bing Crosby, his shows for the troops, his appearances on Johnny Carson, his hosting of the Academy Awards, or this appearance on The Muppet Show.

    If you want more Muppets, check out the trailer for the upcoming new Muppet Movie.

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    Midnight in Paris (short review)

    Midnight in Paris Midnight in Paris is a very good light-hearted entry from director Woody Allen and starring Owen Wilson. The film begins with Wilson and his fiance, played by Rachel McAdams, visiting Paris. Wilson is a screenwriter struggling to write his first book. Wilson loves Paris and longs for the literary Paris of the past, and then his desire to live in the past comes true. One night, after he gets lost walking back to his hotel, he ends up back in the 1920s where he encounters F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, as well as other artists from that era. After the night’s adventure, he goes back to his hotel and the twenty-first century, but he plans to visit his friends from the 1920s again the next evening. What will he see and what will he learn from his trips to the romantic 1920s?

    I realize different people have different feelings about films directed by Woody Allen. Some adore most or all of them while others are not fans, perhaps because they feel his life has tainted the films, as in a topic we discussed last week. Critics often like Allen’s films more than viewers, as shown by the current Rotten Tomatoes rating for Midnight in Paris (92% critics; 77% audience). By way of disclosure, I like most of Allen’s films; I love several of them; and there is one that I would probably list among my top twenty films of all time (Crimes and Misdemeanors).

    While it is unfortunate that Allen’s films often have to compete with each other, it it is fair for viewers to consider how a new film ranks within Allen’s canon of films. Considering Midnight in Paris in that context, it is not his best work ever, but it is certainly very good. And, more fairly, considering the comedies usually released during the summer, it is more enjoyable and thoughtful than most of them. The lines are witty, the background is beautiful, the story is interesting, and the movie features fine acting from Wilson in “the Woody Allen role” as well as other actors in the ensemble like Kathy Bates and Marion Cotillard.

    Since Allen has started making several films in cities outside New York, he has used the camera to make these other cities characters in his films the way he once made New York a character in films like Manhattan. And Midnight in Paris certainly makes one desire to walk the streets of Paris and live a rich lifestyle there, beginning with the opening several minutes devoted to various scenes around the city.

    Another feature of Allen’s films is that he often addresses serious themes about life and death, and he does so in Midnight in Paris. For many years Allen has noted that he has been influenced by Ernest Becker’s book The Denial of Death, which is about how our fears affect the way we live. Some of those themes are touched on in this film, as are themes about nostalgia and longing for the past. The themes of nostalgia are reminiscent of Allen’s excellent movie The Purple Rose of Cairo. Although the resolution of these themes in Midnight in Paris is fairly predictable, one may not mind the ride because the journey is so scenic.

    What is your favorite Woody Allen film? Leave a comment.

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