The Candy mailbag: Answering your questions

Hey again -- sorry for the delay, but I'm here and ready to take your questions until I have to go interview a musician in an hour or so. Let's get rolling:

I'm going to visit a friend in London in a little over a month. I'd like to be up-to-date on the latest British pop culture when I go. Is there a British equivalent of Pop Candy? Do you know of any good websites or blogs that would highlight the latest British entertainment gossip, music, indie film screenings, that sort of thing? -- Anne M.

Unfortunately, I don't know of a British Pop Candy per se, but I can point you to blogs at the Mirror and the Guardian, two popular sites for entertainment. (The Guardian has a bunch of blogs, so you may just want to click around for a bit and see what suits your needs.) You may also want to start stopping by the BBC each day for entertainment news and, if you like the really dishy stuff, check Hello! magazine. I know I have some readers across the pond, so if any of them have more tips, please add them in the comments.

The reunion of Rage Against the Machine would be worth the ticket price, but tickets are long gone. Just wondering if the rest of us chumps will be able to hear the performance via satellite radio like SXSW? -- Jim R.

The Coachella fest will be broadcast online via AT&T's Blue Room. I'm assuming this will include the Rage performance. I'll keep you posted on any updates, but right now this seems like your best bet for experiencing the festival.

Be back soon ...

I have a meeting now, but I'll open up the mailbag when I return! Stay tuned.

The week in Pop: My favorite things

Before I share some of the stuff I've been doing this week, I'd like to remind you of this week's podcast, which includes some new music you must hear and an interview with a professional background actor. Please listen! Tell your friends! I appreciate it.

OK, here are a few picks and tales. Share your own in the comments:

Best movie I watched this week: Knocked Up! Last night I went to a screening of the new Judd Apatow comedy and laughed as hard as I used to while watching his old TV shows, Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared. Maybe that's because the cast is packed with actors from those shows: As you know, Seth Rogen stars, and Jason Segel, Jay Baruchel and Martin Starr show up, too. This is going to be the hit comedy of the summer. No complaints. It's out June 1. (And if I were Katherine Heigl, I would get away from Grey's Anatomy as soon as possible. But that's just me.)
I also enjoyed: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Zodiac. I thought Robert Downey Jr. definitely stole the show from the rest of the cast in the latter film. I'm eager to see what he does with Iron Man -- RDJ is one of those actors I'll watch in pretty much anything.

Best TV show I saw: Battlestar Galactica. Even though I caught it ahead of time, I watched it again on Sunday. We were treated to enough revelations and surprises that the wait for a fourth season is going to be absolute torture.
I also enjoyed: Friday Night Lights, Planet Earth, Lost, Penn & Teller: Bulls**t!, The Riches. This was a pretty good week for TV, considering it's not a sweeps month. If you missed the first three parts of Discovery's Planet Earth doc and you have HDTV, I strongly suggest you catch up.

Best thing I read: I leave to judge the Eisners in two weeks, so 99% of my reading involves comic books right now. Other than that, I'm loving the new issue of Bust magazine with Charlotte Gainsbourg on the cover. I think my husband even sneaks a peek when I'm not looking.
I'm also reading: The other night I read a couple chapters of David Lynch's new book about meditation before bed. It's called Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness and Creativity. I'll have to read more to give you a better review, but so far it's good at putting complicated practices and theories in fairly simple terms. Plus, I'm currently watching the second season of Twin Peaks on DVD, so any insight into Lynch's creative process is helpful.

Best CD I heard: This is a tough one, because I heard a lot of really bad CDs this week. I'd probably still give the edge to Modest Mouse, though I do like the Rufus Wainwright songs on the Meet the Robinsons soundtrack!
I'm also listening to: Pela's Anytown Graffiti (hear this week's podcast), new Grant-Lee Phillips songs, older stuff by Beat Happening and Magnetic Fields (I think I've been in the mood for deep-voiced men).

Hear new Chris Cornell

A new track from Chris Cornell's upcoming solo album has been posted on his website. Cornell, who recently left the band Audioslave, will release Carry On June 5. He recently announced a batch of tour dates, so check him out this spring if he rolls through town.

Though I wasn't a big fan of the song he composed for Casino Royale, I did like Cornell's previous solo effort, Euphoria Morning, so we'll see what he has up his sleeve this time around. Thanks to Irfan B. for the tip.

Here comes the flood

The trailer for Evan Almighty debuted today, so you may want to take a peek when you need a Steve Carell fix. The movie is a sequel to 2003's Bruce Almighty, though Jim Carrey opted out of the project. The cast includes Morgan Freeman, Lauren Graham, a boatload of animals and Carell's Office mate Ed Helms. It opens June 22.

'Lost' in a flash: Comments of the week

So you couldn't read all of this week's Lost discussion? I don't blame you -- we racked up almost 300 comments, proving the show is officially back on its feet. Here are the unedited highlights:

1. abby1975 wrote:

Overall I found it a disappointing episode-such a letdown after last weeks explosive twists. The one thing I found interesting was that Vincent knew they were still alive...pure animal instinct or something else?

2. lizkpa wrote:

Buried Alive! How cool was that? I bet Paolo was already dead because it seemed like he got bitten by a lot more spiders than Nikki. She was really a horrible person, so being buried alive was probably a fitting demise for her. It would be too creepy if she made her way back to the surface, but as Locke so poetically reminded us, things don't stay buried on the island...

No Daddy issues here to be found, but another couple of cons. She was Nikki Hernandez on the script for "Exposed", so that makes me think they were already married. Now we know who left the lit cigarette in the Pearl hatch last season. I guess that nicotine gum wasn't working so good for Paolo.

The island sure does seem to be a magnet (no pun intended) for conmen, conwomen, secrets, lies, and deception. I really think Hurley is the key or link to all of our Lost mysteries. He seems to be the only good guy there...

Early buzz: Spidey, 'Studio 60' and more

Happy Friday! It's been a long week, so let's hope the day sails by. I've got the mailbag, my picks of the week and more coming up, so stay tuned.

Some headlines:

- The Spider-Man 3 soundtrack sounds pretty cool, with songs by The Flaming Lips, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Snow Patrol and more.

- A&E has posted a memorial to Eric Medlen, a racecar driver who had been featured on the network's Driving Force. Medlen died last week in a drag racing accident.

- Can you match the horror chick to the horror flick?

- Check out the trailer for Disney's Ratatouille if you haven't already.

- Battlestar Galactica executive producer Ron Moore has been answering a bunch of fans' questions on this page. Thanks to Charles R. for the tip.

- Up-and-coming actor Dustin Milligan has been posting videos on his MySpace page promoting his new movie, In the Land of the Women. The flick also stars Adam Brody and Meg Ryan.

- Nobody wants to air the Miss America pageant. Aw, too bad.

- Studio 60 is still filming, but don't get too excited about another season.

- A tribute honoring Jerry Seinfeld airs Sunday on HBO.

- Those expletive-laden videos haven't hurt David O. Russell, who will direct an adapatation of Kristin Gore's novel, Sammy's Hill.

- Halle Berry talks about suicide and sex rehab in a recent interview.

- Don't call Bono "sir," even though he's a knight.

- And finally, don't forget that April Fool's Day is Sunday. Here's a list of the Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time.

Stop hiding, 'Degrassi' fans

Starting March 30, teen network The N is giving away a bunch of money each night from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. ET. This is good news for those of us who secretly watch Degrassi, One on One and Fresh Prince of Bel Air reruns when we really should be out on the town. (Alert: A Degrassi marathon airs from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday. Clear the TiVo!)

To participate, all you have to do is jot down the latest password mentioned on TV and enter it online. One person wins $1,000 each hour. The contest ends April 3.

'Suburban' short on the big screen

Pop reader Rob Bloom sent me a very nice and humble e-mail about a short film he wrote called Suburban Bravery. About 20 seconds after I started watching it on YouTube, I realized I'd seen it before ... last weekend, right before Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Bravery won a recent contest sponsored by Screenvision, the people who bring you the previews before the previews at the movie theater. If you're a frequent theatergoer, perhaps you've also seen Bloom's two-minute short. It was directed by Maggie Carey, director of The Jeannie Tate Show (and wife of Saturday Night Live's Bill Hader). Congrats, Rob!

Finding the right flick obsession

At the beginning of the year, I said one of my resolutions was to watch as many of AFI's 100 greatest movies as possible. Well, we're about 25% through 2007, and this little project is going ... very, very badly.

Let's be honest here: On a Friday night, after a long and stressful week at work, I am far more likely to substitute The Grapes of Wrath for, say, Jackass 2. Besides, the more I thought about it, the more I disagreed with the makers of this list. I mean, who says Forrest Gump belongs in the top 100? Where are the less mainstream movies, like Down By Law and A Woman Under the Influence? What about documentaries?

That's when it came to me: Instead of watching the AFI films, I'll watch everything in the Criterion Collection! These are flicks I can really learn something from. Not only does Criterion put out high-quality movies, the DVDs usually include superb bonus features.

That's when I discovered that someone else already had this idea, and he's doing a pretty good job writing about it. So far Matthew Dessem has watched 67 Criterion releases, from Rushmore to The Red Shoes. His writeups are very informative and include screencaps from each movie. Check out his blog when you have a chance, and you may be inspired to rent a few of the titles he discusses.

As for my '07 film goals, I'll keep you posted. And, for the record, I'd just like to say that Jackass 2 was a very funny movie.