Pop Culture Mid-Year Report

So, it’s August. When did that happen? It seems as if the summer is flying by. August means the year is more than half-over. How are we doing in terms of pop culture? I went to a couple Web sites and pulled the list of either the best-selling or most critically-acclaimed offerings of the year so far — how caught up are you? How many have you seen/read/heard? Read on.

Here are the best-reviewed movies of 2008 so far, compiled by Rotten Tomatoes:
 
1.         Taxi to the Dark Side 
2.         Man on Wire
3.         Surfwise
4.         4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
5.         Bigger, Stronger, Faster
6.         My Winnipeg
7.         Blindsight
8.         WALL-E
9.         Up The Yangtze
10.       The Dark Knight
 
The bestselling books of 2008 so far, compiled by Barnes and Noble:
           
1.         A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
2.         The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
3.         Appeal by John Grisham
4.         Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
5.         7th Heaven by James Patterson
6.         Audition by Barbara Walters
7.         Plum Lucky by Janet Evanovich
8.         Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
9.         Duma Key by Stephen King
10.       Sail by James Patterson
 
And finally, here are the most critically acclaimed albums of 2008 so far, compiled by Metacritic.com:
 
1.         What Does It All Mean? 1983-2006 Retrospective, by Steinski
2.         Life…The Best Game In Town by Harvey Milk
3.         Fleet Foxes by Fleet Foxes
4.         Pacific Ocean Blue [Reissue] by Dennis Wilson
5.         Hercules And Love Affair by Hercules And Love Affair
6.         Rook by Shearwater
7.         Stay Positive by The Hold Steady
8.         Don’t Do Anything by Sam Phillips
9.         Mar Dulce by Bajofondo
10.       Real Animal by Alejandro Escovedo
11.       Love On The Inside by Sugarland (It has the same score as No. 10, so it wouldn’t be just to leave it off.)
 
How do these jibe with your personal favorites? Leave any thoughts or arguments in the comments.
 

 

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