An Idiot Abroad: "Whale Watching" (2.4)

Part of the fun in An Idiot Abroad‘s second season comes from the surprising way Ricky and Stephen—or whoever it was that actually planned out Karl’s agendas—go about getting him to his bucket list destinations. The show has always enjoyed throwing random surprise hurdles in Karl’s path, but the second season seems more intent on screwing with the formula. We saw a huge twist of this last week, when they switched Karl’s “swim with the dolphins” item into swimming with sharks, but it’s an important part of the show every time out, particularly because the items Karl chose were largely...  read more

Portlandia Review: "Cat Nap" (Episode 2.06)

Quick...how many Internet memes and bourgeois trends can you spot in this week’s episode of Portlandia? Cats. Check. Kickstarter. Check. Pitchfork and Polyphonic Spree mentions. Check and double check. (This would make a great drinking game, no?)  read more

Delocated Review: "Skins" (Episode 3.02)

“Let the skins begin / my savory skins.”...  read more

Ezra Furman: The Year of No Returning

When Ezra Furman and the Harpoons’ first record came out, there was a good argument to be made that the scene could actually use a dead-on Violent Femmes doppelganger. In a scene with a lot of yelp, to have the brand of yelp that comes with a blistering sense of humor and vaguely pervy garage-rock abandon was a good palate cleanser and a nice antidote to the last decades’ raft of monochromatic Englishmen in tight jeans. Years later, though, Furman has the sense to branch out and try to seek his own less referential voice and broaden his sonic palette.  read more

Archer Review: "Drift Problem" (Episode 3.7)

The more I think of this week’s episode of Archer, I realize it is somewhat of an anomaly for the series. Usually with Archer the show builds to a third act that is an excellent combination of action and comedy that Archer puts together perfectly. But with this episode, “Drift Problem”, the show starts off with a bang and a fun first act, and then quickly dissolves into the weakest episode of the third season so far.   read more

The Darkness II Review (Multi-Platform)

The cult classic returns with a different developer. Can The Darkness thrive without Starbreeze at the helm?...  read more

Up All Night Review: "Day After Valentine's Day" (Episode 1.15)

Up All Night has had the ability to turn classic sitcom lore into something clever without ever going over the top. It’s something I’ve said before and will continue saying until this over-looked freshman comedy gets the praise it deserves. After moving to Thursday nights, the Will Arnett and Christina Applegate parent comedy still is lacking in reviews, but that doesn’t stop it from churning out highly entertaining episodes.  read more

Modern Family Review: "Me? Jealous?" (Episode 3.14)

After a few weeks off, ABC’s top-rated comedy Modern Family returned this week with a Valentine’s-themed episode. Sort of. Unlike the past Valentine’s Modern Family episodes, which focused on Phil wooing Claire (remember his alter ego Clive Bixby?), this episode spread the love—and the green-eyed monster—equally among the Dunphy and Pritchett family members.   read more

Perfect Sense

Perfect Sense is a film certainly worthy of appreciation, but a struggle to love. It promises an exciting premise—people around the world are starting to lose their senses, beginning with the sense of smell, and no one knows why. Caught in the middle of the mysterious pandemic are a pair of lovers, a chef and a researcher, who discover they need one another to make it through the chaos....  read more

Return

Return is the debut film from writer and director Liza Johnson. The film follows a female soldier, Kelli (Linda Cardellini), who after returning from war in the Middle East, struggles to settle back into her old life. Although initially thrilled to be reunited with her husband, Mike (Michael Shannon), her two little girls, and her friends, life at home slowly begins to appear hollow and pointless. She quits her job, one she had held for a long time before the war, suddenly and without explanation. Instead of finding new work, she wastes months on the couch in her pajamas, watching...  read more

Mark Lanegan Band: Blues Funeral

Careful fans of modern indie rock probably think they know Mark Lanegan fairly well. Better, even, than the Screaming Trees from whence he once came. Latter day Lanegan, the guttural purveyor of dark night of the soul music, the voice of swamp wind on a muddy graveyard, the sin-stoked demon growl that howitzers through the weird holes Isobell Campbell, Greg Dulli or Josh Homme leave for him in their music together.  read more

Justified Review: "The Devil You Know" (Episode 3.04)

Quarles only joins us for the opening scene this week, but his proposal to Devil proves to be the catalyst that turns Devil’s bubbling discontent with Boyd’s leadership into a full blown boil. By episode’s end, Boyd’s crew will be one man lighter. For Quarles, this must have seemed like a win-win (much like sending Glen Fogle after Raylan). If Boyd ends up one soldier shy, then great. If Devil succeeds, all the better. As Quarles so eloquently yells, “Give me a goddamned amen.”  read more

Chuck Prophet: Temple Beautiful

Not since Lou Reed paid homage to the city and era that forged him with New York has there been a song cycle dedicated to a place and reality that offers the core immediacy with the thump, churn and ferocity of Chuck Prophet’s Temple Beautiful. A stripped down rock & roll record - where the drums pump and echo, guitars slash and buzz and horns squawk like geese with rhythm - the former wunderkind of progressive cosmic cowboys Green On Red bristles with an intensity that makes great rock burn.  read more

Comic Book & Graphic Novel Round-Up (2/8/12)

Each week, Paste reviews the most intriguing comic books, graphic novels, graphic memoirs and other illustrated books....  read more

New Girl Review: "The Landlord" Episode 1.12)

While it has seemed like Nick and Jess have been predetermined to end up together at some point in New Girl, it is less because they are the show’s two main stars, but rather that they are two opposite ends of the spectrum. In “The Landlord”, Jess is the girl who can turn around the angry driver with a gun with only a smile and for the second episode in a row, uses cupcakes as a friendly tool to get others to help her. Simply put, she sees the world with rose colored glasses on, even as a child accepting candy from a stranger in a van, which for once in the world, turned out to be a good thing as he brought his grandmother along to hand out the sweets. On the other hand, Nick’s viewpoint is that people are the worst. Stemmed from a childhood where a man once stole $5 from him and ran away, Nick believes that man does not have the best intentions. New Girl may seem like the wrong format to debate the inherent good or evil in man, but with “The Landlord”, Jess and Nick take on their ideals in an awkward, and hilarious battle, to see who is right.   read more

SoulCalibur V Review (Multi-Platform)

A SoulCalibur fan considers the brand new SoulCalibur V....  read more

Paul McCartney: Kisses on the Bottom

Neil Young once said if you live long enough, you’ll be so far behind the times that eventually things will come around and you’ll be on the cutting edge again. He could have been talking about his pal, Paul McCartney.  read more

Bahamas: Barchords

If you expect a guy called Bahamas to make laid-back, tropical music, you’d be half-right. On Barchords, Bahamas (or Afie Jurvanen, as his mamma calls him) crafts a collection of light, sometimes even breezy tracks infused with blues (“Lost in the Light”), pop (“Your Sweet Touch”) and country (“Any Other Way”). Oddly, one of the most notable things about Barchords is how much silence it contains. In an effort to create space for the songs’ sentiments, Jurvanen has taken quite the stripped-down approach to instrumentation, favoring vocals high in the mix and at times leaving long moments of silence between...  read more

Smash Review: "Pilot" (Episode 1.01)

The series, about all of the aspects surrounding a new musical about Marilyn Monroe, is going to draw hefty comparisons to the only other successful musical series on television. Whether it’s a preconceived idea, like I had, or because it warrants the links because it’s a musical, the comparisons will continue to fall into place until Smash proves it’s different.  read more

Air: Le Voyage dans la Lune

What marriage of film and music could be more perfect? Evidence: Air, the pioneering ambient French duo, released a debut album called Moon Safari way back in 1998. Ever since, they've reveled in an assortment of soundtrack work, spicing up the acclaimed projects of director Sofia Coppola (Just imagine the masterful Lost in Translation without "Alone in Kyoto.")   read more