'Picks of the Week' (July 31st)

Goodbye, July! Here are my top picks for the five things I am loving this week:

5. Sandwiches

So in less than a month I will be moving into my very first apartment with three of my good friends at school. Although I was determined that over the summer I would learn how to cook...that hasn't exactly gone as planned. Luckily I am pretty confident that I would be perfectly content with making sandwiches for almost every single one of my meals for the next year...Wish me luck.

4. Richard Roeper

You might remember him as the film critic who replaced Gene Siskel as Roger Ebert's co-host on "At the Movies." While I always enjoyed watching Roeper's movie reviews, it wasn't until I started following him on Twitter and reading his blog that I fully started to appreciate him. Richard is always on top of the the latest news whether it's about pop culture, sports, politics, or movies and he always tells it like it is. (He also scores some bonus points for being a die-hard White Sox fan)

3. Trailer for Fantastic Mr. Fox

This week, Yahoo! Movies debuted the first trailer for Fantastic Mr. Fox, Wes Anderson's stop motion animated film based on the children's book by Roald Dahl (author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory). The film features the voices of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray. Check out the trailer here.

2. "New Perspective" by Panic! At the Disco

That's right, Panic! at the Disco is bringing back the (!) to represent a fresh new start with their two new members Ian Crawford (formerly of The Cab) and Dallon Weekes. Earlier this week they released their brand new single, "New Perspective." I'm definitely digging this new song and I can't wait to hear what else they have in store for their new album. Listen to "New Perspective" below, or check it out on their MySpace page here.



1. (500) Days of Summer

As stated in the opening lines of this film, "this is not a love story." 500 Days of Summer is an unconventional romantic comedy that separates itself from the genre through it's honest, sometimes painful, depiction of real-life relationships as well as it's intelligently unique story structure. It strives at being both laugh-at-loud funny with it's clever and playful writing and emotionally powerful as you become deeply invested in the relationship of the two stars, thanks to the outstanding performances by Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Much credit must also be given to first-time director Marc Webb for presenting this incredible story in such a beautiful and artistic manner.

500 Days of Summer is undoubtedly one of the best films of the year so far and I highly suggest you go check it out. Unfortunately like many of these fantastic indie gems, it is only found in limited theaters so you might have to do some searching. But believe me, this film is definitely worth the trip.

Sources: Yahoo! Movies, AbsolutePunk.net

'Picks of the Week' (July 24th)

5. Explains It All - Four Year Strong

Rather than recording new original material, Four Year Strong put together an album that pays tribute to their favorite rock songs from the 90's by bands like Everclear, Nirvana, and Sugar Ray. Check out their cover of Third Eye Blind's "Semi-Charmed Life" here.

4. Frost / Nixon

So I finally got around to seeing Ron Howard's Academy-award nominated film from 2008, Frost/Nixon. Initially I was expecting parts of the film to be slow or dry, but I was pleasantly surprised. The interviews themselves play out more like a head to head duel while the outstanding performances Frank Langella and Michael Sheen and documentary-style format keep you interested for the whole duration of the film.

3. "Peace of Mind" by Boston

This classic hit from Boston's 1976 debut album makes the list this week because I am finally attempting to learn it on the guitar. The combination of Tom Scholz's catchy guitar parts and Brad Delp's ridiculous vocal riffs makes "Peace of Mind" one of my all-time favorite rock songs.

2. Ryan Gosling in Half Nelson

Yesterday I watched the fantastic 2006 indie film, Half Nelson starring the extremely talented Ryan Gosling. The film is about an inner-city junior high school teacher (Gosling) who forms an unlikely friendship with one of his students (Shareeka Epps) after she discovers that he has a drug habit. Although Gosling did get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor for this film, I still believe that he is very underrated as an actor and rarely gets the credit he deserves. His performance is this film is probably the best of his career so far...but you should also check him out in Fracture and Lars and the Real Girl.

1. Mark Buehrle pitches a 'Perfect Game'

Yesterday, White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle pitched the first perfect game since 2004 and only the 18th of all time. Buehrle threw 116 pitches and had six strikeouts. He caught a break in the top of 9th inning when Sox outfielder DeWayne Wise made a tremendous catch to perserve the perfect game. The White Sox ended up winning the game 5-0 and they are now tied in first place with the Detriot Tigers.

'Picks of the Week' (July 17th)

Here are the top five things I am loving this week:

5. Joanna Krupa

Wow, if you've never heard of this smokin' hot Polish-American model / actress then I highly suggest you look her up ASAP. Joanna Krupa is currently on the cover of the August issue of Maxim, and she recently caused some buzz on the reality TV show, "Superstars" when she bitched-out her partner, NFL superstar Terrell Owens. Oh and while you're at it...why don't you look up her super hot sister, Marta Krupa as well?

4. 49¢ Hamburgers / 59¢ Cheeseburgers at McDonald's

On Wednesday, McDonald's sold their hamburgers for 49 cents each and their cheeseburgers for 59 cents. Cheap food is almost always a good thing and this was just way too good of a deal for me to pass up!

3. Ryan Reynolds

As a straight male, I feel fully comfortable to say that I have a huge heterosexual man-crush on actor Ryan Reynolds. The guy has come quite a long way since Van Wilder. In fact, this is turning out to be quite the summer for Mr. Reynolds. Back in May, he had a supporting role as Deadpool in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, a performance that prompted Fox to begin development on a spin-off film to which Reynolds is attached. He then followed that by starring opposite Sandra Bullock in the romantic comedy The Proposal, which crossed the $100 million mark this week. And then earlier this week Warner Bros. Picture hired him to play the title role in the highly anticipated Green Lantern film. Reynolds is on the way to becoming a huge movie star and I look forward to seeing what he has in store for us in the future.

2. "What They Say" by The Avantist

So two of my buddies, Fernando and Erick Arias are in a kick ass indie rock band called The Avantist with their two younger brothers, David and Luis. They recently recorded one of their original songs "What They Say." It's a great track and I highly suggest that you check out it.

What They Say by luisarias23

1. Paul McCartney on Late Show with David Letterman

On Wednesday night, Sir Paul McCartney appeared on the "Late Show" with David Letterman. This marked his first time at the Ed Sullivan Theater in Manhattan since 1964 (when he performed The Beatles). Paul spoke with Letterman about his time with The Beatles as well as his collaborations with Michael Jackson. Then in spirit of "Let It Be", Paul performed on the marquee of the Ed Sullivan Theater. He performed the Beatles signature hit "Get Back" as well as "Sing the Changes" - a song from his most recent solo album, Electric Arguments. After the cameras stopped rolling, McCartney and his band played 5 more songs for what ended up being a 22-minute mini-concert! Check out the full performance here:

'Picks of the Week' (July 10th)

5. Entourage (Season 6)

Okay, so the sixth season doesn't actually start until Sunday Night...but with HBO releasing this teaser and dozens of promo pictures, I can't help but get excited for the brand new season. *Note: Looks like Sloan (the gorgeous Emmanuelle Chriqui) is finally be back...NICE!

4. Last Chance Harvey

A fantastic romantic comedy starring veteran actors Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Like all romance stories, it's a little contrived and sappy at times but that's all outweighed by the chemistry and heartfelt performances from the two stars. Overall it's an honest and funny film that has been overlooked by many and I highly suggest you go rent it and check it out.

3. Brendon Urie covers "Three Little Birds"

Earlier this week, Panic At the Disco announced that Ryan Ross and Jon Walker would be leaving the band to explore music on their own. However, Brendon Urie and Spencer Smith made it clear that Panic at the Disco is still "alive and very very well." And as a nice little bonus, Brendon released an mp3 of his awesome cover of "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley.

2. Michael Jackson Memorial

On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of people gathered at the Staples Center to pay tribute to Michael Jackson. The memorial featured several powerful performances from friends and admirers of Michael. You can watch them all here.

1. Nothing Personal - All Time Low

This week I attended a free MySpace secret show featuring All Time Low in Orland Park. It was part of their "three shows / three cities in one day" promotion for their brand new album "Nothing Personal." Despite being slightly overwhelmed by the swarm of teenage girls in attendance, I thought the guys put on a great show. Their new material is great, and Nothing Personal is turning out to be the perfect pop punk soundtrack for my summer. Check out the video for "Weightless" here...look out for the cameos from Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy and Mark Hoppus of Blink-182!

'Picks of the Week' (July 3rd)

Happy Friday everyone! Here are the my five awesome picks for the week.

5. "Stand By Me" by Bon Jovi & Andy Madadian
Jon Bon Jovi went into the recording studio with exiled Iranian singer Andy Madadian to record a new version of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." The video is intended to support the independence of the Iranian people. The recording was not designed to be sold. Instead, it is meant to be distributed online to demonstrate solidarity with the Iranian protesters (The first verse is sung in Farsi, the language widely spoken in Iran).

4. Root Beer Floats

Root Beer + Ice Cream = crazy delicious.

3. "Poker Face" cover by Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry performs an amazing acoustic version of Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" at a radio station in Germany.

2. Chicago White Sox

The South-Siders are finally heating up! The White Sox are currently on a 6 game winning streak and are only 2.5 games out of 1st place in the central division. GO SOX!

1. Death Cab for Cutie video for "Little Bribes"
A brilliantly made music video directed by Ross Ching for Death Cab For Cutie's "Little Bribes."

'Picks of the Week' (June 26th)

Here are the top five things I am loving this week:

5. "21 Guns" by Green Day

Simple melody, super catchy hook, and lots of political angst: After eight studio albums, the classic pop-punk trio has still got it.

4. Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

Earlier this week USA Today released some concept art and publicity images from Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland including this creepy image of Johnny Depp as the 'Mad Hatter.' These fantastic images just give me more reason to be excited for the film's March 2010 release.

3. Away We Go

A great little summer indie-comedy directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road, American Beauty) starring The Office's John Krasinski and former SNL member Maya Rudolph). The film takes us on a hilarious, yet heartfelt journey of an expecting couple struggling to find themselves. Outstanding performances from the two stars as well as the supporting cast that includes some familiar faces.

2. Megan Fox in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Say what you want about the Transformers sequel. Sure it was too loud, too long, and too over-the-top...but what the hell were you expecting?? Love it or hate it, I hope we can all agree on the choice to give it's super sexy co-star much more screen-time this time around...and you gotta admit: her acting has improved...a little...kind of.

1. The Music of Michael Jackson

Like most of the world, I was shocked and devastated when I heard the news about the sudden death of Michael Jackson, one of the biggest superstars in the world. But rather than dwelling on the negative, I think we should celebrate Michael's amazing life. Although he is no longer with us, Michael Jackson will live on forever with his legacy of No. 1 hits, ground-breaking performances and astounding dance moves. So what better way to remember "The King of Pop" than through the fantastic music he shared with the world:

'Picks of the Week' (June 19)

So borrowing from Entertainment Weekly's feature called 'The Must List', every Friday I will be featuring things relating to music, movie, TV, pop culture, or just something completely random that I love from that week. So here are my Top 5 picks for the week of June 19th:

5. "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)" by Jay-Z

Jay-Z takes shots at 'Auto-Tune' rappers by dropping a single titled "D.O.A. (Death of Auto-Tune)." Sure anyone can bash this annoyingly over-done trend in hip-hop music today, but at least Jay-Z has the talent to back it up.

4. S'mores

The perfect summer treat. Nothing beats spending a beautiful summer night sitting around a fire with your friends, listening to good music, roasting marshmallows, and eating s'mores.

3. Taylor Swift Raps w/ T-Pain on CMT Awards

Speaking of 'auto-tune'...check out this video with T-Pain and Taylor Swift (aka "T-Swizzle"). So what if the whole thing seemed like a rip-off of The Lonely Island's Natalie Portman rap and "I'm on a Boat"? It was still hilarious and probably the highlight of the entire awards ceremony.

2. Megan Fox

With Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen coming out next week, Megan Fox can be found everywhere: promo pictures, Moscow, London, Berlin, South Korea, Tokyo, Entertainment Weekly, GQ, etc. If the smokin' hot Megan Fox doesn't convince you to see the new Transformers movies, I don't know what will.

1. Obama Swats a Fly

It's a little sad that the most memorable part of a CNBC interview with President Obama is when he impressively swats a nagging fly. With that being said, I still cannot deny how awesome it was.

What were YOUR favorite picks of the week?? Feel free to share songs, video clips, articles or your thoughts, comments, opinions, etc.