Any action movie worth half its budget has that 'cliffhanging' scene. You know the one: someone slips off a window ledge, or maybe out of a helicopter, and now his or her life tenuously hangs in the balance. "Hold on!" the hero shouts. The damsel-in-distress's fingers are slipping, one by one. "Grab my hand!" the hero pleads.
This is pretty corny, but I've always found the ubiquitous cliffhanging scene to be really cerebral, all taut with suspense. I think it's because, during my elementary school gym class days, I could never do a single pull-up. (Most girls seemed to whiff out around pull-up #2, thank you.) And then I'd watch the "HOLD ON!!!" scene in movies and think to myself, Well, gosh, in that situation, I'd just let go of whatever I was holding onto. And I knew I was doomed since, after all, attempts to cross the monkey bars tended to end with me falling into the woodchips, massaging my arms and yowling with humiliation.
Above, you'll find a montage of classic HOLD ON!!! movie moments, including (SPOILER!) that scene in The Good Son where Mom has to decide whether to let go of Macaulay Culkin or Elijah Wood. (OH NO!) The video is set to "Hold On," the 1990 pop ballad that marked the debut of Wilson Phillips. />
Any action movie worth half its budget has that 'cliffhanging' scene. You know the one: someone slips off a window ledge, or maybe out of a helicopter, and now his or her life tenuously hangs in the balance. "Hold on!" the hero shouts. The damsel-in-distress's fingers are slipping, one by one. "Grab my hand!" the hero pleads.
This is pretty corny, but I've always found the ubiquitous cliffhanging scene to be really cerebral, all taut with suspense. I think it's because, during my elementary ...
Steve Jobs was an intensely private person. He insisted that Apple's latest products be kept under wraps until the last possible moment, believing it added to their mystique. He had few close friends. Even his failing health---the pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2003, a liver transplant in 2009---was a matter of rumor. His own company had to coax him into disclosing the severity of his illness---as a business precaution, they said.
Wednesday night, news broke that Steve Jobs, co-founder of...
Why, William Shatner? Why? Why? Ben Folds worked so hard to lend your 'prose-poems' real, mainstream relevance! And how do you repay his good faith? By rerecording "Rocket Man"! Ugh!
Last week, I speculated that William Shatner's new record, Seeking Major Tom, is sure to suck. Slated for release this very month, it's a space-themed, high-concept cover album. (Can I wait to hear Shatner's version of "She Blinded Me with Science"? Admittedly, no. Will it nonetheless be awful? Yes.)
Somehow, across space ...
Poor, wonderful Maurice Sendak. The author-illustrator of countless, timeless children's books (Where the Wild Things Are, say, or Chicken Soup with Rice) is, at age 83, still hard at work. His latest, Bumble-Ardy, was published last month.
Last month, NPR broadcast a poignant interview with Maurice Sendak on Fresh Air and, at least among his friends, he's jovial and lively. Listening to Sendak, it turns out, is a perfect way to spend 20 spare minutes. Only near that interview's end did S...
Did you hear the news? The iPhone 5 will be unveiled, rumor has it, at noon (CST) today!
But 20 years ago, Zack Morris was on the bleeding edge of Mobile Information Technologies. And no wonder Zack was so smug! He was the first high-schooler to ever have his cell phone confiscated by the principal!
What's weird is how, in the course of Saved by the Bell, Zack Morris upgrades to a slick, silver flip-phone, but then promptly downgrades to his former black brick. And then he downgrades again, to a massive beige log! Financial troubles in the Morris household, maybe?
Thanks, Buzzfeed. />
Did you hear the news? The iPhone 5 will be unveiled, rumor has it, at noon (CST) today!
But 20 years ago, Zack Morris was on the bleeding edge of Mobile Information Technologies. And no wonder Zack was so smug! He was the first high-schooler to ever have his cell phone confiscated by the principal!
What's weird is how, in the course of Saved by the Bell, Zack Morris upgrades to a slick, silver flip-phone, but then promptly downgrades to his former black brick. And then he downgrades ag...
My in-laws can drink me under the table.
---Claire Danes, on "British pub culture" and, more specifically, on husband Hugh Dancy's comparatively hard-drinkin' parents.
I just love this quote. I know "celebrity gossip" is moralistic, always quick to finger-wag at fast-and-loud living; after all, every other story is Car Wreck this and Trainwreck that. Still, there is something so endearing about prim Claire Danes loosening up and learning how to shotgun a Guinness (or cider, or whatever i...
In New Zealand, grown men can dress as sheep, snuggle together in a cramped "SkyCouch" fold-down seat (sharing a SkyCouch is a great way to save money!), and dream sweet, sweet dreams of David Hasselhoff.
Yeah, OK, it's no "Hooked on a Feeling," but it's sure getting there. />
In New Zealand, grown men can dress as sheep, snuggle together in a cramped "SkyCouch" fold-down seat (sharing a SkyCouch is a great way to save money!), and dream sweet, sweet dreams of David Hasselhoff.
Yeah, OK, it's no "Hooked on a Feeling," but it's sure getting there....
To quickly catch you up on Saturday Night Live news: Kenan Thompson is engaged to his model fiancée; meanwhile, castmembers Fred Armisen and Abby Elliott broke up. (A 20-year age gap, you say? RRRRRRRRED FLAG!)
Saturday's episode of SNL, hosted by Emmy-winning Melissa McCarthy, garnered higher ratings than the season premiere, incredibly. Did McCarthy's performance manage to top Alec Baldwin's? Absolutely. The lady was up for anything.
The cold open uses Taran Killam's (who?) considerable talents (I know, right?...
"I want to thank all the other nominees. For losing."
---Steve Martin, on his IBMA Entertainer of the Year win.
Congratulations are in order for Steve Martin! The banjo-pickin' comedian sure must feel validated: last night, Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers were named Entertainer of the Year, the top award bestowed at the annual International Bluegrass Music Awards.
In 2007, performing with freaking Bela Fleck:
...
The last few episodes of Jersey Shore have been totally indefensible; the whole show has turned miserable. At this point, it's like I'm dragging out a dysfunctional relationship because I made a commitment three and a half seasons ago.
All I remember of last week's episode was that I came away from it feeling doleful and drained. Oh, that's right: Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi embarrassed boyfriend Jionni in public---she hiked her dress up in a club and kind of, I don't know, danced at him---and he dit...
I honestly can't listen to Adele's "Someone Like You" too much more. It's a little gut-wrenching---like, Eternal Sunshine gut-wrenching.
The official music video for "Someone Like You" translates Paris, the Most Romantic Place On Earth®, into a grayscale, nightmarishly desolate landscape of ruined dreams. Like Adele's own music, the video is stark, underproduced, and lovely. Watch it if you can bear it. />
I honestly can't listen to Adele's "Someone Like You" too much more. It's a little gut-wrenching---like, Eternal Sunshine gut-wrenching.
The official music video for "Someone Like You" translates Paris, the Most Romantic Place On Earth®, into a grayscale, nightmarishly desolate landscape of ruined dreams. Like Adele's own music, the video is stark, underproduced, and lovely. Watch it if you can bear it....
Well, all's well that ends well, I guess. David Arquette and estranged wife Courteney Cox are still friends; in the meantime, Arquette is reportedly smitten with his new girlfriend, Christina McLarty.
But WHO IS CHRISTINA MCLARTY?!?! you might be wondering. I'm glad you asked. She is a reporter for Entertainment Tonight, and she is also the ex of "Girls Gone Wild" impresario Joe Francis. Harrowingly, the couple dated for four years; last November, they wed in a lavish "civil union" ceremony. (The best man? Quincy Jones.) McLarty's partne...
