By: Brennan Carley

Welcome to my first column. Let me begin with a little bit about myself: My name is Brennan, I’m a sophomore communications major, self-diagnosed pop culture addict, TV junkie, and entertainment maven. I’m also a big movie lover.

By: Brennan Carley

With summer rapidly approaching (Seriously, have the past few weeks flown by for anyone else?), the smell of buttered popcorn that accompanies the biggest movie season of the year is wafting through the air. The lineup of films coming out over the next few months is truly impressive.

By: Brennan Carley

In the past decade, it is the rare romantic comedy that rises above the pile of trash that now defines the genre to steal audience’s hearts. Thanks largely to the lovely Jennifer Lopez, the new movie The Backup Plan manages to elicit laughter and even heartfelt emotion from its audience.

By: Brennan Carley

Three years ago, a cocky, straight-talking girl made her footprint on the music industry with the in-your-face single “Foundations.” After two years of touring and a year off, Kate Nash returns to the scene with My Best Friend is You.

By: Brennan Carley

Breaking free from routine: that’s all the loving but bored Phil and Claire Foster want to do on their Date Night. Tired of “enjoying potato skins and salmon” every weekend at the neighborhood pub, Phil (Steve Carell) wants to treat his wife Claire (Tina Fey) to something special.

By: Brennan Carley

Here Lies Love is a new album by the masterminds David Byrne (of Talking Heads) and Fatboy Slim. It tells the story of two captivating women: Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines, and Estrella Cumpas, the woman who raised her.

By: Brennan Carley

Fatal Attraction, Match Point, and Mulholland Drive: three movies about obsession done right. Sadly, the new film Chloe doesn’t hold a candle to any of them. Though not an awful movie by any means, the flick gamely hobbles along on the crutches of cliches and predictability.

By: Brennan Carley

Gloomy and mysterious, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo successfully breaks free from the typical “conspiracy film” conventions thanks to the artistic vision of director Niels Alden Oplev.

By: Brennan Carley

Sometimes a movie come along that hit you right in the heart, serving up the perfect blend of great acting, directing, and screenwriting. Other times, movies like Remember Me come along and punch you in the face, simultaneously wasting your time and insulting your intelligence.

By: Brennan Carley

After a five-year break from music, the animated band Gorillaz seems dead-set on taking the world by storm, once again. Dreamt up by British pop star Damon Albarn, the British virtual rockers (2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle) deliver a fresh, exciting sound on their new album, Plastic Beach.