I got Def Jam: Fight for NY under control; thanks for asking. The trick is to keep throwing people into walls, over and over. I like it!

Shaun of the Dead is a weird one. It's a very good comedy that turns into a shitty zombie movie and then back into a very good comedy. I am absolutely not one of those fools who thinks that British comedy is forever far superior to American comedy, but the actors in Shaun of the Dead have a nice, easygoing charm, and they don't push their jokes too far. There's a certain logic to the idea that people could be so wrapped up in their routines that they wouldn't notice a zombie apocalypse happening around them. But the movie turns serious about two thirds of the way through, and it abruptly stops working right then. I find zombie movies in general to be truly, deeply upsetting and affecting, but this one spends almost no time building intensity before killing off most of the characters in all the usual ways. It just sort of made me uncomfortable. And then it goes back to being a comedy. It's like, huh?

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is awesome. It doesn't make any sense. It's awesome. It's exactly what a fun night at the movies should be. If this is playing at a drive-in near you, don't sleep.

The Renaissance Festival is not awesome. The Renaissance Festival can kiss my ass.

Sasha Frere-Jones is probably the best music writer working today, and it's not just because his writing is great. It's because his thinking is absolutely dead-on. Observe.