GMU Pop Culture Journalism

Many wonder what a man from Canada with Romanian parents knows about style…

Written on September 15, 2010 – 12:14 pm | by sweettea

“Hello Darlings,” is a popular phrase you can totally connect to Steven Cojocaru. Cojocaru is probably one of my favorite fashion critics out right now. This 45-year-old fashionista has appeared in all sorts of media forms: E!, Access Hollywood, American Idol, The Daily Show, Entertainment Tonight, and many more. He currently works for People magazine as a celebrity style critic. Cojo, as many fashionistas like to call him, has a strong sense and knowledge of the high-fashion world; he certainly uses it to either tear celebrities’ styles apart or acknowledge a mild sense of fashion in some celebs.

With his cut-throat criticism, Cojo has certainly made a name for himself. I recall Cojo calling Kristen Stewart “a boy” once on the red carpet. Many celebs have felt offended by his remarks; others call him the “Cruella De Vil” of the fashion world. I totally respect this aspect of criticism because many people do not have the guts to be so ruthless. His own style is very trendsetter-y. Cojo has long golden blond hair, definitely wears make-up and dresses very metro yet high-fashion. Look out for Cojo very own section in People magazine.

Also, visit his ultimate website for recent fashion criticism and bashing of celebrities and their style. http://www.cojostyle.com/

Tags: Celebrity, Critic, Fashion, profile

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Alt Press Critic Phil Freeman

Written on September 15, 2010 – 11:09 am | by donaldomahony

Admittedly, I could not think of a well known metal critic off the top of my head. Whenever I read an album review, I usually go to Alternative Press. So after looking through their album reviews over the last few months, it looks like Phil Freeman does a lot of the heavier records.

In his profile, he calls himself an “aging headbanger” who covered metal for AP before they wanted to cover metal. He definately has the I-dont-care-about-what-other-people-think-because-I’m-a-metalhead attitude (“You might even see me at a show; I’ll be the old guy leaning against the back wall, making fun of your haircut and checking out your girlfriend’s ass”).

Freeman’s first review I came across was on “Monument,” a record by Miss May I.

He praised the band’s talent, style and originality but made fun of their awful name, saying the band “dished out metal in a style that could have gotten them slots opening for Arch Enemy or In Flames—if only their name wasn’t so terrible.”

Another review I liked was of “Collisions & Castaways” by 36 Crazyfists (mostly because I feel the same way about this overrated band). In true metalhead fashion, he does not shy away from how he really feels about the album. “Indeed, there’s almost nothing to help you tell 36 Crazyfists’ songs apart from those of their peers,” he says. “One or two headbang-worthy riffs (“Trenches” has one; so does the Deserter”) can’t rescue the band’s fifth album from faceless ordinariness.”

Next time, Mr. Freeman, tell us what you really think.

Tags: 36 crazyfists, Alternative Press, Metal, miss may i, phil freeman

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“The Lyons Den” – Movie Critic Profile

Written on September 15, 2010 – 10:16 am | by coliver5

My beat is comedy movies, and one of my favorite critics is Ben Lyons from E!’s” The Daily Ten”.  He has his own segment titled “The Lyons Den” that airs every other week or so during the half-hour programming of “The Daily Ten” on E! at 7:30pm.  He always gives his opinions on the new movies coming out and he’ll let viewers know which movies are worth watching and which ones are not even worth the $10 ticket price.  I love watching his interviews as well as his conccentration is generally movies so he is in charge of not only reviewing movies, but also interviewing the actors and actresses of the film.  He has interviewed probably everyone from Angelina Jolie to Brad Pitt to Jhonny Depp. 

For the most part his reviews are mostly televised as opposed to written but he has done some written works that can be found on the E! website: www.eonline.com or directly enter http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/lyons_den/index.html for the “lyons den” section where you can view some of the videos of interviews he has done as well as other movie reviews written on the page.  Because of his personality he is able to attract viewers and has convinced me on watching certain movies I would  not have otherwise considered watching.  I do disagree with some of the criticism he has made but that’s only because each person has a different opinion for different kinds of movies but for the most part Lyons manages to give a convincing review of the promoting film.  Another thing Ben Lyons does well especcially during his “Daily Ten” segment is he always gives the good and the bad critiques of the movie without really giving the plot away.  He does his job well, but shows additional enthusiasm whenever the movie is a MUST-see and worth the time and money.

Tags: Ben Lyons, movies, The Daily Ten

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PETA’s Best Friend

Written on September 15, 2010 – 9:35 am | by storres7

The MTV Music Awards- An annual event made for stars to make an absolute ass out of themselves- this year, the price goes to Lady Gaga. Who in their “rotten” mind would think about wearing a dress made out of meat? She has a flank steak on her head, imagine how that must smell in the heat of Los Angeles, the flank steak was probably well-done by the end of the day!

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It Had Me Until…

Written on September 14, 2010 – 10:45 pm | by chrisstjacques

Devil Trailer

This movie totally had me. I like suspense and horror flicks and this seemed like it had the essential elements – such as a simple premise, creepy music, a hot chick – but then the trailer goes off the rails with four simple words “From the mind of” and one letter “M” followed by “Night Shyamalan.”

What is it with this guy and being able to cut together awesome trailers that lead to terrible movies? He should get out of the movie business and just make trailers for a living. The trailer for Signs? Great. The trailer for The Villiage? Awesome. Lady in the Water? I’m interested. But then the movie comes out and I want to pour bleach into my eyes and slam my head into a Green Bay Packers interior linemen until I get a Kevin Kolb-like concussion and hopefully forget ever wasting time and money to watch one of M. Night’s post The Sixth Sense films.

But who knows, maybe The Devil will be his comeback film. And maybe I’m a dolphin.

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Nerdtastic: “The Big Bang Theory” Provides Viewers with More Than Just Laughs

Written on September 14, 2010 – 9:35 pm | by msathmar

Who says television doesn’t make you smarter?

With a new season premiering on Thursday, September 23 at 8pm, CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” will once again grace the television screens of nerds and sitcom junkies everywhere. But what is it about the show that makes it so popular? After all, aside from your stereotypically good-looking female lead character (Penny), the show is really about a group of unusually dorky guys and their science experiments.

According to Korbi Ghosh of GMMR, throughout the series there have been several “lessons” that our nerdy boys have left audiences everywhere to ponder over. For a complete list of these ludicrous lessons, click here. “Bazinga!”

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Going the Distance- Interstitial

Written on September 14, 2010 – 8:29 pm | by monda

This past week I wrote a review of the movie “Going the Distance” and it was not a positive review. I found a movie blog that had a fantastic review of the movie. Take a look at it and if you have seen the movie I would love to hear your thoughts.

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Daredevil Reborn?

Written on September 14, 2010 – 10:13 am | by gpelkofski

Is Marvel setting up the Man Without Fear to die, so they can bring him back? That’s what this latest teaser image seems to imply.

This image comes weeks after Marvel released several other teaser images of various characters being shown to be the new Man Without Fear.

It wouldn’t be a surprise if Marvel’s resident blind superhero dies after going off the deep end and turning from good guy to bad guy in the current miniseries, Shadowland.

But to imply that Daredevil needs to be “reborn” before he even dies (if he does get killed off) seems a little over the top.

Comic books need to stop this overused formula of killing characters only to resurrect them a few months later.

Hopefully, this isn’t the case and Marvel has a different meaning in mind when they use the word “reborn.”

Tags: Comic Books, Marvel Comics

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The Sartorialist – Fashion Critic

Written on September 14, 2010 – 10:02 am | by schrist8

I can’t even say that I know what this guy’s real name is, but he goes by “The Sartorialist.” As you could likely guess from his name, he focuses on the broader spectrum of fashion; sartorial simply implies something related to clothes, or style of dress. Despite his focus on fashion in general, what he does is travel the world and photograph people on the street that are dressed well. Simply put: anybody who pulls off his or her own expressive style. My beat this semester is street fashion, which implies more of a focus on brands like Nike, Adidas, or the style of dress that relates to street culture, which encompasses graffiti, skateboarding, hip-hop, punk rock, and more. However, my interest is in the clean and classic aesthetic of this, and in those designers and clothing lines who can pull off something tasteful. This is what has drawn me to The Sartorialist, he is able to pinpoint people who make their own respective style look great, and this is valuable to any niche. He might pick out somebody who looked great in a suit, and explain why. He might also pick out a woman wearing skinny jeans and hi-tops, and explain why it looked right.

The Sartorialist has gone from working in the fashion industry to now being a full-time photo-blogger. He has published his own book and currently has a column in GQ magazine.

http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/

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Daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith signs a record deal with Jay-Z

Written on September 13, 2010 – 1:05 pm | by mwhitfie

Willow Smith, aka The Fresh Princess of Bel Air, is said to be linking up with Hova himself- the God of God’s in [mainstream] hip-hop.  Yes, mainstream.  (Sorry Izzo- your gangster appeal went bye-bye a long time ago.  But your wealthiness, I’m sure, makes up for it.  AND I would still kiss your feet if you asked me to).

As part of the Smith dynasty, it is only natural, I assume, for Willow to fall effortlessly into the Hollywood spotlight.  She is not only following in her parent’s foot-steps, but her recording career with Jay-Z’s Roc Nation Records is being launched only months after the release of “Karate Kid” (2010), in which brother, Jaden Smith, kicked down the proverbial doors of Pinkett-Smith family fame.

Already being called a trend-setter, Willow’s first track “Whip my Hair” preemptively dismisses her future critics (haters), and she fast-talks/sings her way into the Roc Nation label.

As badly as my eye twitches when I think of early childhood fame and richness, I kind of dig her new song.  Plus, if I had hair like hers, I think I’d whip it back and forth, over and over and over again, too.

Do yourself a favor as you listen to this song, and remember, she’s 9-years-old.  Enjoy!

Tags: hip-hop, Jay-Z, Music, tween success, Will Smith, Willow Smith

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