Snow White: Fight to the Finish

The past week saw the release of both of the trailers for the competing Snow White epics currently in the works. There is Tarsem Singh's comedic Mirror Mirror, which looks absolutely ridiculous (in the best way) and stars Julia Roberts, Nathan Lane, Armie Hammer, and some pale person whose name I keep forgetting. And then there is Snow White & the Huntsman, the uber-serious film starring Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Kristen Stewart, and a slew of other people, including a 7 non-little-people as the 7 Dwarves.

So which to choose? 

Which is the fairest film of all? 

Let's judge solely on the trailers, shall we?

Mirror Mirror certainly has a lot going for it. It's directed by Tarsem Singh, who has made some of the most visually stunning and sumptuous films of recent memory (The Cell, the amazing The Fall, and the not-terrible Immortals).  In terms of fairy-tale magic, his version of

Web Video Review: Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Have you ever seen anything this adorable? If you answered yes, I'm going to need you to send me video proof as soon as possible.

Music Review: Ethan Lipton + His Orchestra

Ethan Lipton

Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra had their first of four performances at Joe's Pub as part of the Pub's new initiative to commission works that represent the Joe's Pub audience and the Joe's Pub artists (original, varied, eccentric, amazing). This initiative, sponsored by the National Endowment of the Arts and appropriately titled the New York Voices series, kicked off with shows by Toshi Reagon and Lady Rizo, continues with Ethan Lipton and His Orchestra.

I'm a little biased in this review, as I un-apologetically love Joe's Pub, its director Shanta Thake, and Ethan Lipton and His

Hipster Halloween 2! Oo-oo-oooh

It's Halloween season, and hipster babies are out in full force!

Hipster Halloween!!!!

In anticipation of Halloween, Tableau Your Mind presents the scariest Hipster Baby ever.

You've been warned:

For $35 a day, you can make sure this baby has all the organic formula she needs

ABC's 'Revenge' is So Sweet

Revenge is in the Eye of the Beholder

With so many new and returning shows vying for my attention, it took me a while to make it to Revenge, the soapy drama on ABC. Granted, there was more than just my over-packed TV schedule that kept me away. The marketing, specifically, was pretty terrible, with Emily VanCamp in some sort of thorn dress that was apparently made out of anger?  Also, while I

The Hunger Games: I'm Starving for It!

Elizabeth Banks as Effie Trinket

I am a huge fan of The Hunger Games book series. I was late to the game (hah! puns!), admittedly - several years late. Still, being behind allowed me to read the entire book series all at once over the course of a very emotionally intense three days. It was just me, sitting at

Film Review: 50/50

When I first saw the trailer for 50/50, the new comedic drama starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Seth Rogen, I instantly thought of another great cancer memoir: Cancer Made Me a Shallower Person, by Miriam Engelberg. In it, Engelberg talks about the awkwardness of cancer, the humiliating situations, and the anger that she felt. Of course, it’s all very funny, but it’s also strange that people rarely talk about cancer in so harsh a light. For every Laura Linney on The Big C, there are countless people becoming better people and rising above the illness on television and in film. It’s a powerful redemption/conquering adversity story, so understandably it’s told all the time.

Male cancer is even less often portrayed (by my count, there is Brian’s Song and, um, that’s pretty much it). That is why 50/50, a by-the-numbers yet refreshingly honest film, is so

A Moment, Please, for Amy Pond

Spoiler Alert if you aren’t caught up on this season’s Doctor Who.

(Seriously, it's a pretty big spoiler)

Amelia Pond Williams, wife of Rory Williams and mother of Melody Williams AKA River Song, ended her two season run in last Saturday’s episode of Doctor Who.

Companions of the Doctor seem to serve a few functions. First, they are constantly asking questions, which makes the exposition in Doctor Who (of which there is a lot) seem less clunky. Secondly, they act as an audience surrogate, providing a relatable entry point into the series. Sure, some companions aren’t exactly relatable, but they’re certainly more human than The Doctor.

What I find to be the most important function for a companion, though, is her own journey with The Doctor and the lessons and character growth along the way. Each of the Doctor’s companions has a story to tell, and Amy Pond’s was always one of maturation, of growing past being ‘the girl who waited’ and into the girl who lived.

This season (or series), however, Amy has seemed, more than ever, to be spinning her wheels. Once she chose Rory over the Doctor, the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her.  Karen Gillan is absolutely wonderful in the role, but this season has found very little for her to do, especially these second-half episodes. Even her (possibly) penultimate episode, which focused primarily on her, was just rehashing old material about her life and the choices she’s made.

Amy Pond was a wonderful character. She was delightful and fun, which was a nice counterpoint to Matt Smith’s more tortured Doctor 11 (though nobody did tortured Doctor better than David Tennant). I look forward to her return.

But -- for now -- goodbye, Amy Pond, most whimsical of all the Doctor Who companions.  You will be missed.

And goodbye, Rory.

UPDATE: Okay, so I was totally wrong about this. Not only were Amy and Rory back in a small way in the last episode of this season and the Christmas special, they will both be back with the Doctor for another half season. I literally have no idea how their story lines are going to continue any further, but I know better than to look a gift Doctor Who in the mouth.

Hipster Baby: Stoner Baby Edition

Is it bright in here? It feels bright in here. Could we dim something?