Hello all!

The Critical Condition will be taking the briefest of pauses as I put the finishing touches on–and finally perform–Ruth and Esther’s Lemonade Revue.

Join me on Friday for all sorts of new excitement!

Okay, y’all. Since Hamlet 2 first showed up on The Critical Condition as a Trailer Scaler, I’m doing a Trailer Scaler Redux.

In other words: I saw this movie on Saturday, and by God, I’ve got some things to say about it.

And I’ll say them. Oh yes, I’ll say them… after the jump.

MANY, MANY SPOILERS AHEAD!
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Have you been watching Project Runway? Have you noticed that Terri never wins the challenges, even though she obviously deserves to? 

This week, for instance, her drag queen outfit was a mind-boggling explosion:

I can’t get over how this design mashes up a thousand ideas–including two types of boots–yet manages to look cohesive. Joe’s winning outfit was nice, but a pink sailor suit just isn’t as exciting as this piece of innovation.

Also, Terri’s personality rules. She’s funny, grounded, and healthily skeptical of the many wack-ass people in this season’s cast. If she doesn’t make Bryant Park, I will lose it, people. Lose it!

This weekend, I’ll spend most of my time rehearsing Ruth and Esther’s Lemonade Revue, but I’m also going to squeeze in a trip to see Hamlet 2. Could I be more excited to see this movie? Hardly. 

I will report back on the degree to which my world was rocked. 

To this day, I can’t believe that The Truman Show didn’t get a 1998 Best Picture nomination. I mean, really. Elizabeth is good, but it is not a better movie. It certainly doesn’t feature one of the most powerful scenes in recent movie history. And The Truman Show does.

But if you haven’t seen the movie–or haven’t seen it in several years–you may want to check it out before you mosey past the jump.

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AdTastic is on hiatus this week because Pink has just released as a new single. If Barack Obama is elected president, I hope he arranges a national holiday for this sort of thing. 

For those who don’t know, I love me some Pink. Like, crazy love. And yet as I write this, I have not heard her new single, “So What.”

Therefore, I will write the following review as I listen to the song for the first time.  And unless I’m correcting a typo, I won’t change a single word after I write it. 

After the jump, join me in my crazy experiment!

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Over the weekend, I went to my first traditional Jewish wedding. Oh, I’d seen a huppa and danced the hora before, but this was my first time hearing all the prayers and blessings, hearing the marriage contract read aloud, and watching the bride and groom go off for a moment of seclusion.

The ceremony was really moving. From my perspective, the wedding welcomed the couple into a global and historical family. The bride and groom performed the same rituals that millions of others had performed before, and so they became part of a massive community that spans both distance and time. Through their marriage, they were welcomed into a new world.

Experiencing that tradition for the first time has made think about the value of doing new things. If you’re ready to walk on the wild side–or at least a different side–then I suggest you Crank That Hit!

(Do something new… after the jump)

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Oh snap! The Veronicas released a kick-ass album months ago, and I’m just now hearing it! What have I been doing?

And also? Imani Coppola, of the late-nineties hit “Legend of a Cowgirl,” is now part of a kick-ass pop-soul duo called Little Jackie. Their debut album only came out last month, so the fact I didn’t know about it isn’t that surprising. But still… I could have been rocking for weeks instead of days!

But let’s not bemoan the past. Let’s be grateful for the present. After the jump, I’ll get busy with a song from each artist that is currently rocking my world.

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This week, there’s another “red band” trailer on Trailer Scaler, full of the stuff you wouldn’t get to see on network television. Tee-hee! We’re so naughty!

What’s that? The movie? Oh… right. That’s important, too. Not just the prurience. The movie is Burn After Reading, the new film from the Coen brothers.

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For someone who has six Rihanna songs on his iPod, I’ve been incredibly slow to acknowledge her staying power. Time after time, single after single, I’ve kept thinking of her as an artist who can’t last.

I mean, really. She has had some amazing singles–including “S.O.S.,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” and the ubiquitous “Umbrella”–but she still hasn’t exhibited a clear artistic personality. To paraphrase my friend Kerri, she’s talented and pretty and a great dancer, but so are lots of people. Anyone could be singing her hits. Compared to fellow superstars like Beyonce, Pink, Ne-Yo, and Nelly Furtado, Rihanna is just a producer’s plaything, competently singing incredible hooks that someone else has written.

And yet… “Disturbia,” another great song with a killer video, just went to number one. That’s her fourth number one in roughly two years, and her ninth top ten hit in just over three. Throw in “Shut Up and Drive,” which peaked at a respectable number 15, and you’ve got enough material for a filler-free greatest hits disc.

What to make of all this? Has Rihanna just gotten really lucky? Has she’s hooked up with all the right songwriters and producers and managed to become a superstar?

I feel like that’s the case, but I will keep on buying her songs. It’s kind of nice, actually, that these great hits are all coming from the same person. Better one Rihanna make a career out of these tracks than three or four sound-alikes get fleeting success with one hit each. Better that “Disturbia,” “Take a Bow,” “Umbrella,” “Don’t Stop the Music,” and “Hate That I Love You” all be on the same album. Life is less confusing that way. 

As a chaser, here’s the aforementioned “Disturbia” video. Where are her eyes?!?