Music Mondays: Aurora "Half the World Away"

Another beautiful song from Nordic sprite, Aurora. Back in August, I shared her song "Running With the Wolves" for Music Monday, and I'm still completely obsessed with it. While I'm still eagerly anticipating her first full-length album, I certainly won't scoff at the occasional new single. This one is titled "Half a World Away," which I've been listening to non-stop for the past few days, wanting to float away into a calm, quiet place—probably because the holidays are fast approaching and they're usually anything but calm!

If you're also desperate for a feeling of peace and happiness, give this song a listen. Happy Monday! xx

Artist: Aurora
Song: "Half the World Away" | download
Album: N/A

AFI Top 100: #43 "Midnight Cowboy"

Jon Voight in Midnight Cowboy (1969)

I've gotten behind in my AFI Top 100 reviews as of late, even though our weekly movie nights haven't slowed down one bit. As we're pushing closer and closer to the Top 10, it's hard not to be more critical of the films that grace this last half of the list. It's also impossible not to notice the affinity the American Film Institute has for movies with lines more famous than the film. One memorable line does not a good movie make. Midnight Cowboy comes in at #43, having brought the world likely the most famous improvised line of all time, "Hey! I'm walking here!", and has the distinction of being the first—and only—X-rated film to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture (despite that X rating being short-lived; it was eventually changed to R). A gritty, arguably disgusting movie about the dangers of being naive in the big city, with an unbelievable performance from Dustin Hoffman that didn't make me like it any better.

Good-looking Joe Buck (Jon Voight) is desperate to escape his life as a dishwasher in rural Texas. Gilded in glossy boots and a new cowboy hat, he swaggers out of town with his head held high and a handheld radio, catching the first bus to New York City confident he'll get get rich quick as a male prostitute. It takes less than a day for Joe to realize finding wealth may be harder than he'd imagined, especially once he meets the weaselly, fast-talking "Ratso" Rizzo (Hoffman), a conman who talks him out of his money before taking him under his wing. The two unlikely co-patriots band together to survive the unrelenting New York winter as squatters in an abandoned building—Joe offers Ratso security and company, while Ratso instills in Joe his know-how on navigating the streets and [attempting] to be his pimp.

Music Mondays: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats "S.O.B."

Last month, I was listening to L.A. radio station Alt 98.7—the Woody Show, naturally. Between talk radio bits, this song came on. Normally, music is an unwelcome distraction from the show during my morning commute, but not this time. This was Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats singing "S.O.B." and I was completely floored. One of the most exciting songs to play on the radio in years, the energy of the track is electric, thumping, and my heart pulses to the beat.

Rateliff's music makes my eyes light up, and I have yet to witness anyone listening to this song who doesn't react with the same excitement. It's funky, soulful rockabilly wrapped up in a bit of a homegrown hipster package. Something right out of O Brother Where Art Thou? with a kiss of Cry-Baby wackiness. Big band, Memphis sound, I've fallen hard for "S.O.B.", and I can't wait to explore the rest of their music. If it's half as good as this song, I may have a new favorite album on the horizon.

Give it a listen, and brighten your Monday morning!

Artist: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Song: "S.O.B." | download
Album: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

AFI Top 100: #44 "The Philadelphia Story"

Katharine Hepburn & James Stewart in The Philadelphia Story (1940)

During the mad rush that has been our move, these wee-little reviews have unfortunately taken a backseat. Time to get back in the saddle, since our viewings haven't taken a break! The last time Katharine Hepburn came together with Cary Grant in the AFI Top 100 list, I wrote my most scathing review to date for a movie that I will forever and always passionately hate. It's amazing what can happen in two years, isn't it? Our actors have matured, shedding their caricature-like personas in an attempt to play delightfully real-ish people. It's #44 on our countdown, The Philadelphia Story, that reminds me just how wonderful Miss Hepburn truly was. The powerful energy of Jimmy Stewart, hot off the success of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, certainly doesn't hurt.

Society girl Tracy Lord (Hepburn) is set to remarry after the highly publicized failure of her first marriage to C. K. Dexter Haven (Grant), whose romance was short-lived, volatile, and passionate. Tracy's new fiancee is George Kittridge (John Howard), a rather boring would-be politician with little to define his personality besides his love for Tracy. On the eve of the wedding at the Lord mansion, tabloid reporter Macaulay Connor (James Stewart) and his liaison, Elizabeth Imbrie (Ruth Hussey) show up under the guise of being friends with Tracy's brother, to get the scoop on the marriage of the century—and discover what really happened between Tracy and Dexter.

MY TOP FIVE: Sick Day Movies

My sadly too ignored series of TOP FIVE pick-lists has been ignored far too long now. The past few weeks have been some of the most draining and busy of my life (you've probably noticed the lack of posts and reviews lately), with job commitments increasing and a fervent move out of our NoHo apartment into another NoHo apartment... all while fighting what felt like an impending plague. Finally taking a day to recuperate, I'm longing for the days when I could croak to my parents that "I'm too sick to go to school today...*cough*cough*" -- and lo' and behold, they'd call into the school and do the hard part for me.

Those were the days when you could score a Sick Day, even if you were in fact only feeling mildly unwell, and not feel a twinge of guilt about it. Curled up on a plush couch, surrounded by a taco of pillows and blankets (with my favorite snack of chips and salsa only an arm's reach away), I'd relax in front of the TV and cycle through my very favorite sick day movies.

We all have some, and they're special to you and you alone, because they were the movies that you got to choose without input from anyone. You were the sick one, dammit, you got to pick. For me, the following movies were (or are now) my go-to Sick Day Movies every single time...

5. The Fifth Element (1997)



This movie is silly and riotously fun. Bruce Willis as Corbin Dallas brings the humor and the action, and Mila Jovovich brings the weird. Wait. No, Gary Oldman brings the weird. Science fiction in general is a great genre to watch when you're feeling sick, and it's only made better when the plot and style is so totally out there like this one. It's blindly good entertainment, and I seriously can't get enough of it.

And if it were socially acceptable, I would name my daughter Leeloo Dallas Multipass.