Arietty: The Borrower

Looks to be the best studio Ghibli film since Spirited Away. And from what I can tell, and in lines with my taste for american children's literature, I believe I will probably enjoy it a lot more. I still rate Princess Mononoke, Castle In The Sky, and My Neighboro Totoro higher than Spirited Away, although I'll admit the animation is superior in the latter film.

Lil Wayne's EP is pretty amazing for something slapped together by his label while he is in jail. There are at least 3 powerhouse pop recordings on here that I find it hard to believe they were just sitting on... Right Above It [Ft. Drake], Gonorrhea [Ft. Drake], and I'm Single. Also notable are That Ain't Me [Ft. Jay Sean] is notable as well as What's Wrong With Them [Ft. Nicki Minaj] (on which she absolutely destroys the hook, sounding a lot like Rihanna. With this chorus and her leaked single Right Thru Me she has become an irrefutable pop presence even outside of rap). If this 10-track EP were trimmed of its weaker moments it wouldn't be THAT far shy of a Gaga-calibur EP (Fame Monster being the new gold standard for the format in my book. That EP had bigger singles than most peoples' albums.) Okay I take that back. Nothing is Gaga-calibur. But Wayne's better pop recordings are about the closest damn thing from an engineering/sound production standpoint as well as vitality and creativity on the vocal track. The two biggest pop icons of the decade in fine form for 2010.

Also, the whole 2012 is retarded and I can't wait for Y2K Jr. to just be done with so people will shut up, but damn I love that titular track from Jay Sean. It's like the cornier 1999. Also the Willow Smith mash-up with Nicki Minaj being passed around is < the Miley Cyrus/Biggie mash-up from last year. By far.

And I guess I hope my Packers whoop the shit out of the Redskins tomorrow, but I wish the Redskins well in the rest of the season. Hope Shanahan and McNabb can pull the out of their Snyder/Zorn-induced slump this year.

Also, FUCK, I want to see Let Me In so bad. Love some Matt Reeves. Only other thing of interest in the cinema for me right now is The Social Network, which I only want to see for the Fincher aspect, as I hate Facebook in general. But I hear he's done some amazing things from a directorial standpoint with a story I could otherwise care less about. I just hope Disney's live-action remake of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is still his next project.

Speaking of next projects... Sam Raimi's Oz prequel is now his official next project! Can't fucking wait. And he plans to follow it up with a live-action fantasy film set in the Warcraft universe. After Spider-Man 1 & 2 (we'll forget 3, I know it wasn't his fault) and Drag Me To Hell, old Sam really is clawing his way up to my favorite current working director's list.