Superman and Lois Lane Do Some Flirting in "Man of Steel" Clip

The highly-anticipated Man of Steel comes out next Friday, which means that clips from the movie are starting to be released.

Thankfully, the one scene that I have been desperate to see is amongst those clips. The scene is of Superman and Lois Lane, first previewed in the movie's third trailer. In the clip, Lois asks Superman what "the S" stands for.

Even if the film's plot is a disastrous flop (which I doubt heavily), there's no denying that Henry Cavill and Amy Adams have some pretty great chemistry. Even though the dialogue doesn't necessarily suggest it, there is definitely some romantic glances between the two of them, especially on Superman's part. It's kind of crazy how convincing Cavill is as Superman; although it's only thirty seconds, he seems to have the role down pat.

What do you think? Are you convinced by this latest iteration of the pop culture classic?

The Five Ways Game of Thrones's "Red Wedding" Ruined My Life

The fateful wedding reception...

From Sunday night through Monday morning, my Facebook timeline was flooded with reactions to the penultimate episode of Game of Thrones, which featured the apparently-infamous "Red Wedding". Of course, I'm never one to miss a pop culture event, so I wanted to see what the big deal was.

I spent the next three days bingeing on Game of Thrones via HBO Go (I had tried to get into the show last year, but I stopped after episode six of the first season because I got distracted). I finally reached the ninth episode of this season at 9am this morning, thinking I was prepared for just about anything.

I was terribly, terribly wrong.

After I finished running through my apartment screaming like a madman after the credits rolled for about twenty minutes, I ate lunch and then curled up into my bed and took a nap. Yes, the "Red Wedding" took that much of a toll on my spirit.

Now that I've calmed down, I'm ready to examine why I, and millions of viewers, had such a reaction. Here they are:

P.S. IF FOR SOME REASON YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS EPISODE (WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR EXACTLY?) DO NOT READ BELOW, AND GO WATCH IT!

So. Much. Death.
Without even getting into the actual characters who died, this is easily one of the deadliest, bloodiest, goriest episodes that has ever aired on television. Literally every character who had the misfortune to be in that damn reception hall was killed. Even the damn direwolf was killed. The wolf! You barely had time to react to any one death, because another one came right after it. It was so overwhelming that when the screen went black, you realized that you finally started breathing again. And then you proceed to have a complete nervous breakdown once you realize who was actually killed.

The Leaders of The Starks Were Slaughtered. In Five Minutes.
As an avid TV watcher, the killing off of a major character, let alone a lead character, is unheard of (unless the actor decides to quit or something, but even then they usually just move away). The killing of three major characters is unthinkable. Yet, Robb, Catelyn, and Talisa Stark were all butchered with five minutes of each other. Yes I know it was in the books, but damn. So much stock was put into Robb leading the rebellion, and to have him shot and then stabbed just completely threw me for a loop. Catelyn, the long-suffering matriarch, had to watch her eldest son killed, and then was killed herself. How do you kill two principal characters, the leaders of the Stark family? The Starks are essentially over as a family, and it only took five minutes to do it. What kind of logic?

They Killed The Baby!
I've watched enough Law and Order: SVU to see some pretty awful things done to pregnant women, but seeing Talisa Stark stabbed repeatedly in the stomach was by far the most horrific thing ever. I get its wartime and the Freys were betrayed and revenge and all that, but to kill her, through the baby? Damn.

Why Aren't The Lannisters DEAD YET?!?!
Ok, I'll rephrase: why aren't Cersei and Joffrey dead yet? I've warmed up to Jaime after his bath scene with Lady Stark's knight, and I live for Tyrion. But how the hell are Cersei and her inbred demon of a son still alive, while everyone else is butchered? Cersei is a fail of a mother, and Joffrey is a petulant child with a sociopathic lust for senseless gore. They both should be super-dead. Seriously, what the hell will it take? Which leads me to...

Daenerys Needs To Come and Burn Down King's Landing With Her Dragons. Now.
The only character I'm rooting for at this point is the Mother of Dragons, the Khaleesi, Daenerys Stormborn. She is the only character who has consistently slayed (figuratively and literally) all season. Now with the Starks out of the picture, it's time for her to take her Unsullied and storm the Iron Throne with her three badass dragons. I would greatly appreciate it if she fed Joffrey to one of them, just for kicks. They're growing dragons, I'm sure they are hungry.

I Can't Believe I'm Actually Enjoying Miley Cyrus's New Single "We Can't Stop"

In my freshman year at Trinity College, there was one song that was inescapable on my campus: Miley Cyrus's "Party in the USA".

A lot has changed since Miley was shaking her hips like "yeah". She snatched off her Hannah Montana wig, danced around in a cage dressed as a bird, got engaged to Liam Hemsworth, chopped off her hair, and even made a twerking video. She also went in the studio to record new music, which she unleashed this morning on Ryan Seacrest's radio show. "We Can't Stop" is currently sitting pretty at #1 on iTunes after only two hours, so it's safe to declare Miley's comeback to pop a success. What's surprising to me is how I'm actually rooting for this song to succeed.

"We Can't Stop" is nothing like we've heard from her, which is a very nice surprise. The song is very chill, laid-back, and beach-ready. It doesn't break any new ground in the "party all the time" world it lives in, but there a few golden lyrical nuggets that will keep people singing along on the radio, especially the call-to-arms line "We run things, things don't run we". Miley's voice is an acquired taste, but her vocals on this track rank among her strongest by far. It's easy to believe that she is having the time of her life, and despite yourself, you want to join in on the fun.

Check out "We Can't Stop" below:



Photo from the Daily Mail

Silver Linings Playbook, So Damn Charming!

Mental illness as romantic comedy, who knew?

Silver Linings Playbook, one of the biggest of the Oscar bait films, is one of those landmark genre films, whether anyone right now realizes it or now. Like Harry Met Sally before it, this film captures the feel of our pop culture and turns it back on us, making us both laugh and wonder about ourselves. In a genre that is, despite my endless enjoyment of it, admittedly formulaic and tired, Silver Linings is simply refreshing.

The movie is about a man named Pat, played by Bradley Cooper, who is released from a mental hospital after a nervous breakdown six months prior, caused by his wife's infidelity. Since his hospitalization, Pat's been intensely working on himself, losing weight (because cheating on an overweight Bradley Cooper is the only scenario that makes sense for the world) and improving his outlook on life. He is released into his parents' custody, played brilliantly by Robert DeNiro and Jacki Weaver, where he continues on his quest to revive his marriage (even though his wife has sold their house and left town). Along the way, he meets Jennifer Lawrence's Tiffany, a slightly unhinged nymphomaniacal widower. While it's potentially obvious where the story ends up, the way it gets there is quite hilarious and unexpected.

I'm just going to get straight into it; I am madly in love with Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper after this film. Separately, they are excellent in this film, more than deserving of their Oscar nominations. Together, they are dynamite. Age difference be damned, they have a chemistry that works in both the quiet and boisterous moments. They are simultaneously hilarious and heartbreaking, and even when they act absolutely ridiculous (it is a film about recovering from mental illness after all), you cannot help but root for them. Jennifer Lawrence in this film is equatable to Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman, but younger and even better, and if she loses the Best Actress Oscar, there is no justice in the world.

The entire cast of Silver Linings Playbook is fantastic, which would've saved the film had it been a poorly written mess. The fact that it isn't, that it's instead a carefully crafted, joyous take on the dangers of blind love makes the experience all the more satisfying. Everything works, from the football backdrop, to the use of Stevie Wonder's "My Cherie Amour", even down to the ballroom dancing. it's irreverent, it's quirky, and it makes you heart burst, even at the fairly typical ending.

Pardon the football pun, but Silver Linings Playbook is easily the season's MVP.