Rather than slogging through a lake of reviews to find something you’re just going to put down after 30 minutes, Cult of Mac has once again waded through the iTunes store to compile a list of the best new movies, albums and books to come out this week.
Enjoy!
Best Movies
“The World’s End”
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost reteam with director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead) in this entertaining thrill ride that pits a band of misfits against some sort of cosmic interstellar powers hellbent of global domination. Twenty years after their first epic pub crawl attempt, the “five musketeers” reunite in their hometown to complete the ultimate challenge – one night, five friends, twelve bars – a boozy quest on which only the strongest will survive.
After Simon Pegg’s character cons his Musketeers friends into coming to the pub crawl a bizarre series of encounters with the out-of-this-world locals, they realize their inebriated battle to reach the final pub, The World’s End, may be the least of the troubles. They’ve having the time of their lives, ready to take on the world… but tonight they may have to save it
“Elysium”
In the year 2159, the world is divided in two. There are the wealthy folks who reside on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest of us, crammed into a giant favela known as Earth. Jodie Foster plays yet another hardass woman in killer suits – Secretary Delacourt – who will stop at nothing to make sure the happy, luxurious lifestyles of the citizens of Elysium stay happy and luxurious. That of course riles the peasants of Earth who are trying to get in to this extra-terrestrial paradise by any means possible. Matt Damon jumps into the lead role of Max who agrees to on a life-threatening mission that will hopefully bring equality to everyone. Viva La DAMON!
“Despicable Me 2”
Super villain Felonious Gru is back, this time as an adoring father to his adopted girls in the 3D-sequel to the worldwide blockbuster. Here, partnered with secret agent Lucy Wilde (voiced by SNL veteran Kristen Wiig), Gru, along with the wildly unpredictable Minions (surprise: also up for their own film, expected to debut in 2015), must figure out how to keep his cover while also dealing with the everyday duties of a doting father. The film ends with a world made safe and wedding bells.
Best Books
“Anything That Moves: Renegade Chefs, Fearless Eaters, and the Making of a New American Food Culture”
by Dana Goodyear
A new American cuisine is forming where animals never before considered (or long since forgotten) are emerging as delicacies. What used to scrap is now the centerpiece of a meal.
Dana Goodyear’s anticipated debut, “Anything That Moves,” is a rollicking, fork-fuelled adventure and behind-the-scenes look at the way we eat. Goodyear breaks bread with insect-eaters and blood drinkers as well as chefs who make food out of roadside leaves and wood, and others who serve endangered species and Schedule I drugs—a cast of characters, in other words, who flirt with danger, taboo, and disgust in pursuit of the sublime. Behind them is an intricate network of scavengers, dealers, and pitchmen responsible for introducing the rare and exotic into the marketplace. “Anything That Moves” is a revelatory look into the raucous, strange, fascinatingly complex world of contemporary American food culture, and the places where the extreme is bleeding into the mainstream.
“Dallas 1963”
by Bill Minutaglio & Steven L. Davis
Not a year goes by without 50 new books on John F. Kennedy hitting bookshelves, but following the recent 50th anniversary of his assassination, it’s worthwhile to take a closer look at the socio-political climate around Dallas during the months and weeks leading up to Kennedy’s fateful drive through the city on November 22nd, 1963.
Bill Minutaglio and Steven L. Davis explore the dark forces at work that led many people to warn President Kennedy to avoid Dallas on his fateful trip to Texas. “Dallas 1963” presents a clear, cinematic and revelatory look at the tragedy that transformed America. Countless authors have attempted to explain the assassination, but this is the first book that tries to explain Dallas.
Minutaglio and Davis lead us through intimate glimpses of the Kennedy family and the political workings of the Kennedy White House, to the obsessed men in Dallas responsible for climate of hatred that led many to blame the city for the president’s death. The authors provide an accurate understanding of what happened in the weeks and months leading to John F. Kennedy’s assassination.
“A Reader’s Book of Days: True Tales from the Lives and Works of Writers for Every Day of the Year”
by Tom Nissley
“A Reader’s Book of Days” features bite-size accounts of events in the lives of great authors for every day of the year. One day features Marcel Proust starting on his monumental “In Search of Lost Time” and another has Virginia Woolf scribbling in the margin of her own writing, “Is it nonsense, or is it brilliance?” Fictional events that take place within beloved books are also included, from the birth of Harry Potter’s enemy Draco Malfoy to the date of the infamous blood-soaked prom in Stephen King’s “Carrie.”
It includes the more usual compilations of the days on which famous authors were born and died; plus lists of recommended reading for every month of the year as well as snippets from book reviews as they appeared across literary history; and throughout there are wry illustrations by acclaimed artist Joanna Neborsky.
“A Reader’s Book of Days” is filled with memorable and surprising tales from the lives and works of Martin Amis, Jane Austen, James Baldwin, Roberto Bolaño, the Brontë sisters, Junot Díaz, Philip K. Dick, Charles Dickens, Joan Didion, F. Scott Fitzgerald, John Keats, Hilary Mantel, Haruki Murakami, Flannery O’Connor, Orhan Pamuk, George Plimpton, Marilynne Robinson, W. G. Sebald, Dr. Seuss, Zadie Smith, Susan Sontag, Hunter S. Thompson, Leo Tolstoy, David Foster Wallace, and many more with nearly 2,000 stories total.
Best Albums
“Songs for the Philippines”
Various Artists
Music picks this week aren’t all that hot, thanks, but for those looking for some old music in a new form, Universal Music has rounded up some of its hottest artists for a compilation album to help those in the Philippines affected by the recent typhoon.
All proceeds from each sale of “Song for the Philippines” will be donated to the Philippine Red Cross. As the Philippines recovers and rebuilds in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan’s devastation, some of music’s biggest names are brought together on this benefit album. Including songs from The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Beyoncé, Adele, U2, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Lorde, and Imagine Dragons. If you’re looking for a new grip of great singles – minus Linkn Park – and do a little bit of good at the same time, here’s your digital product of the week to purchase.
“Dance (RED) Save Lives, Vol. 2”
Various Artists
Jony Ive just wrapped up his big RED auction with Marc Newson and Bono this week that raised over $46 million for Project RED to fight AIDS and Tuberculosis. If you’re like me and couldn’t afford to drop $1,805,000 on Jony’s fancy Leica M8 but need another excuse to contribute to the cause you could pick up the new Dance (RED) Save Lives album.
All proceeds from the sale of the album and singles featured in it are donated to the Global Fund. The sequel to the 2012 compilation of high-energy dance anthems follows the same brilliant model as the first album, bringing together the biggest names in EDM, hip-hop, and pop to build awareness about the global fight against AIDS. Once again, the roster of talent is stunning – everyone from megaclub acts like Calvin Harris, deadmau5, and Major Lazer to up-and-coming artists like Munich electro quintet Claire and sultry L.A. thumping remake of Bob Marley’s “Sun Is Shining.” Exuberant production, big hooks, and anthemic choruses make this an exhilarating ride.
One Direction
Midnight Memories
Normally I wouldn’t be one to promote teenie bopper girl bands, but the holidays put me in mind of the things I’m grateful for. One of those things is that we’re NOT still part of the U.K., so it seems only fitting to celebrate their latest musical plague export that has enthralled girls across the home of the brave – One Direction.
With the brilliant transition from individual X Factor contestants to charismatic arena-filling heartthrobs, One Direction has emerged as the boy band of the millennium next two or three years. The band’s deliriously catchy mix of glossy pop hocks, classic rock guitar riffs, and pulsing electronic beats made 2012’s “Take Me Home” a global sensation. The quintet of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Louis Tomlinson offered a first taste of the highly anticipated follow album “Midnight Memories” with the aptly titled single, “Best Song Ever” and deliriously catchy, sing-along singles like “Story of My Life.”
