Blogcritics Author: Melissa Cuppett

Book Review: The Learners by Chip Kidd

Melissa Cuppett — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:09:01 EDT

Graphic designer maintains creative touch with second novel.
What does green sound like?Just answer off the top of your head. I'll wait.Not sure? Confused? Then welcome to the world of Happy, the conversational first-person narrator of Chip Kidd's The Learners.Happy gets to answer questions like that -- or play word association and word-opposite games -- at his new job at the New Haven, Connecticut...

Product Review: Serenity Lunch Boxes Are For Adults, Too

Melissa Cuppett — Tue, 5 Aug 2008 07:40:05 EDT

Boxes a fun way to express fan's devotion.
What does an adult do with a lunch box?That’s the question I faced when two shiny new metal boxes from Dark Horse Comics arrived at my house. Possible uses: purse, storage container, bookshelf display item.I decided to try each out as a purse first, bringing to mind Sandra Bullock’s character in Hope Floats, who carried her stuff around...

Emmy Nominees Include Some Welcome Surprises

Melissa Cuppett — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:36:29 EDT

Pushing Daisies, Damages among nominees.
It was with anticipation and dread that I scanned the Emmy nominee list this morning. The top 10 finalists named earlier this month gave some hope: Would Kyle Chandler be nominated for his excellent work on Friday Night Lights? Would someone from Battlestar Galactica (in this case, Mary McDonnell for her alternately frustrating and sympathetic...

Music Review: Tapes 'N Tapes - Walk it Off

Melissa Cuppett — Tue, 8 Jul 2008 07:40:05 EDT

Minneapolis band offers eclectic second album.
First, a confession: I am not exactly the ideal candidate to write a music review. I've listened to a lot of music over the years, but I'm not particularly analytical about why what's good is good and what's bad is bad. I like it enough to listen to it, or I don't. A real winner is the song that doesn't get skipped when the...

Taking Another Look at Lady in the Water

Melissa Cuppett — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 14:02:12 EDT

Is this M. Night Shyamalan film -- his latest before this weekend's The Happening opened -- really so bad?
The film: Lady in the WaterHave I seen it before? Yes, in the theater.How the DVD got to my shelf: I bought a pre-viewed copy from Blockbuster on sale.The DVD viewing experience: Not bad.My expectations were relatively low going into this screening. What I remembered from seeing it at the movie theater was enjoyment tempered by disappointment. But...

Revisiting 2005's War of the Worlds

Melissa Cuppett — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 07:09:34 EDT

New series looks at DVDs from the writer's personal collection. Up first is the Steven Spielberg-directed film that updates an alien-invasion classic.
You know how it is.You see a movie in the theater, like it, and buy the DVD. You notice a film in the $5.50 bin that stars someone you like, and though you've never heard of the movie, you buy it. You win a movie-themed gift, including a DVD of a recent successful film, at a baby shower or the office Christmas party. You get DVDs in your...

Music Review: Over the Rhine - The Trumpet Child

Melissa Cuppett — Thu, 3 Apr 2008 06:57:54 EDT

Duo adds to musically rich discography with jazzy, celebratory album.
Ohio's Over the Rhine — the husband-and-wife team of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist — has continued its streak of thoughtful, lush albums with 2007's The Trumpet Child. Released in August (and followed by a Christmas album, Snow Angels, in October), it's a favorite of fans and critics. Listen to the album and you...

Diving Into Podcasts: It's About Time, Eh?

Melissa Cuppett — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 06:08:33 EDT

Giving podcasts a try took awhile, but now the obsession has begun in earnest.
I have been infected with podcast mania.Initially, I wasn't interested in podcasts. I'm reasonably modern: not afraid of computers, own an iPod, have played games on the Wii. But I often don't bother with whatever new thing has come around the bend; we're just so cluttered with stuff and media already. A lot of the time, I don't...

Recent Films Focus on Appealing Young Women

Melissa Cuppett — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:04:02 EDT

In the past several months, a few films have put the spotlight on young women � in movies that appeal to both adults and younger viewers.
In the past nine months, I've found myself thinking one thought more often than usual as I leave the movie theater: "I would have liked this when I was 12." Which is not to say I didn't like the movie as an adult. I was just surprised to find something both appealing and age-appropriate for a younger crowd and that I, as an adult,...

Audience Can Enhance Moviegoing Experience

Melissa Cuppett — Wed, 5 Mar 2008 12:41:26 EST

With the right film (in this case, Vantage Point) and a big crowd, a fun movie can be even more fun to watch.
You know how annoying it is when those two people behind you use their we're-in-a-crowded-restaurant voices to comment on the movie you're watching?"She's going to talk to him.""She has different buttons on her coat.""Oh, no.""He's coming back."Thanks for the illumination, ladies at Penelope...