Life Between Films

Between the newest issues of GQ magazine and Details, there was much fun reading for me on the plane to San Antonio today (side note: it is cold as balls here in San Antonio right now!). Yes, I’m a girl that reads men magazines. Ladies, you should try it sometime. Beautiful pictures of attractive, stylish men and thought-provoking, witty articles. Win, win.

And with that, I always learn something new in the pages of men magazines, especially where pop culture is concerned. Apparently there is some rise in the sub-culture of the “high-bro”. It’s the year of the high-bro, didn’t you know? I guess I realized it, just didn’t have a name for it. “High-bro” is supposedly where the “bro” culture (think high adrenaline action flicks, comic books, sports) meet the more “highbrow” (think classical music, literature, arthouse films). And of course, GQ runs down some of “the stuff the high-bro likes”. I loved it (does that make me a high-bro? high-broette?). Here are some of my favorites straight from the GQ list with [my own comments] focusing on, you guessed it, all things indie:

Aaron Sorkin. Wins screenwriting Oscar for Facebook movie. Nails self-aware walk- and-talk cameo on 30 Rock. Pulls off Moneyball for the big screen. A colossus. [the high-bro we can only hope to channel when we put pen to paper open up our Macbooks]
Bridesmaids. Funny movie, with funny women in it! Note to high-bros: Enjoying it does not retroactively confer a women’s studies degree from Smith. [the movie the high-bro was initially ashamed that they wanted to see but ended up loving]

Charlie Day. It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia hero stole Horrible Bosses from Jasons Sudeikis and Bateman. For a good time, search “Charlie Day Loves to Yell” on NYMag.com [the Jim Carrey of this generation. See also: 2010’s Going the Distance]
Drive. High-Bro Criterion Collection Pick, Slam-Fucking-Dunk Edition. Supersylized, powered by man-crush Ryan Gosling helmed by high-bro auteur (bro-teur?) Nicolas Winding Refn, delievers all the savegery and automotive irresponsibility of a dozens dumber action flicks. Also pretty thoroughly awesome. [Ryan Gosling in a hot white dragon jacket. Enough said]
Emma Stone. Forever. [and ever]
FX, Worshipping Pretty Much Every Show on. [see Wilfred below]
George Clooney. Forever. [high-bro’ing past 50. Impressive]
Ironic Retweeting Without Comment. How the high-bro rolls his eyes. [on the daily]
*RT @KhloeKardashian Sitting on the patio, asking why why why…
*RT @RussellCrowe Work out in the water tank, 45 mins body movement 90 mins, body movement with weighted objects 60 mins.
Margin Call. High-Bro Criterion Collection Pick, Occupy Wall Street Edition. Sub-Mamet, but only just, with Jeremy Irons picking delicious scenery out of his shark teeth. A Boiler Room for the Great Recession generation. [for all the OWSers who are too high-bro to go out and actually protest]
Red Band Trailers. Web-only, rich in profanity, red-bands are how we discovered that Natalie Portman’s ass was the true star of Your Highness and that David Fincher’s Girl with the Dragon Tattoo might be his best serial-killer flick yet. [gritty, the way trailers should be]
Shia LaBeouf, Interviews with. “The time I spent with Megan [Fox] was our own thing, and I think you can see the chemistry on-screen… I don’t know, man. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know.” [seriously, read his interview from the August 2011 Details mag]
Warrior. High-Bro Criterion Collection Pick, Underserved Flop Edition. Especially when considered in relation to The Fighter. If forced to pick one working-class-brother-versus-working-class-brother fight flick, no contest. Tougher, less cliched. Oh, and Tom Hardy would have Christian Bale tapping out in three seconds. [I’ll reiterate, a movie that should not have flown under the radar]
Wilfred. “Remember when I told you a few weeks ago that you are a total pussy? Well, I just want to apologize for not emphasizing that enough… Ryan, anger is like herpes - you’re not meant to keep it to yourself.” - a six-foot Aussie man in a dog costume. [now I’m not into imported TV show remakes, but this has to be one of the funniest yet underrated ones]
Zooey Deschanel, Actress. Forever. [and ever]
Zooey Deschanel, Singer. Not much longer. [please stop]

Want more? Full A-Z list here.