Culture Corner

Jack Johnson, Sleep Through The Static
You either love Jack Johnson or you hate him. I’m in the former camp. His latest album Sleep Through The Static may be his best album yet. Whereas some of his previous albums haven’t been well rounded, relying on 2 or 3 singles to drive the album . . . it sounds as if Johnson has matured and created a complete album from top to bottom. It’s the kind of album that you can play multiple times over and over and not get tired of it. For those who aren’t familiar with Jack Johnson’s music, he is a former professional surfer who released his first album in 2001. Johnson lives and records in Hawaii when he’s not surfing. So his music has a distinct beachy, light, acoustic feel. Johnson also recorded this album entirely using nothing but solar power and it was printed using environmentally friendly standards.

Juno, starring Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jason Bateman
Juno I really enjoyed this movie. The story was written by Diablo Cody and stars Ellen Page as a sharp-tongued teenager confronting an unplanned pregnancy. With a plotline like that you would think the movie would come off trashy or like a typical cliché high school movie. Instead, the film actually has some serious depth with the way it addresses complex issues. It certainly doesn’t hurt that Page puts on a stellar performance. Even those pretentious critics loved it as it won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and received 3 Oscar nominations including Best Picture. My only complaint was that they didn’t feature Michael Cera (Arrested Development, Clark & Michael) near enough. If you’re looking for an intelligent, witty, unique, and charming picture . . . this does a good of job as any.