PopMatters: PopWire News, Reviews and Commentary from the World of Popular Culture 2010-01-31T14:53:40Z Copyright (c) 2010, PopMatters.com ExpressionEngine tag:popmatters.com-popwire,2010:02:10 The once and future Sims tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120568 2010-02-09T21:07:37Z 2010-02-09T21:07:37Z Brian Crecente One hundred million copies sold, 36 magazine covers and 100 game critic awards: The Sims franchise continues to thrive 10 years after its launch, basking in the uncommon flattery of having no real... ]]> 'The Phantom,' 'A Serious Man' top list of latest Blu-ray releases tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120557 2010-02-09T18:55:49Z 2010-02-09T18:55:49Z Doug Nye Leno's prime-time send-off to be departure from tradition tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120536 2010-02-09T11:41:58Z 2010-02-09T11:41:58Z Greg Braxton LOS ANGELES — The last time Jay Leno said good-bye to America, it was in gala fashion, marked by high emotion, a cheering studio audience and tears. In ending his 17-year stretch on "The... ]]> Saints' Super Bowl win nips 'MASH' finale for most-watched show ever tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120535 2010-02-09T11:39:46Z 2010-02-09T11:39:46Z Joe Flint Move over Hawkeye Pierce, looks like Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints just took your ratings crown along with the Super Bowl title. A record 106.5 million people watched the Saints write a... ]]> Larry Holmes and Joe Frazier recall when they were 'Facing Ali' tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120534 2010-02-09T11:36:45Z 2010-02-09T11:36:45Z Luaine Lee PASADENA, Calif. — Though he was heavyweight champion of the world three times, Muhammad Ali's opponents were no wimps. At last 10 bruisers who fought Ali tell their side of the story in the... ]]> Sony's two-volume 'Bad Girls of Film Noir' sets bring them out of the shadows tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120533 2010-02-09T11:17:36Z 2010-02-09T11:17:36Z Susan King The ultimate 'Survivor' test: obscurity tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120496 2010-02-08T21:00:07Z 2010-02-08T21:00:07Z Neal Justin LOS ANGELES — A true "Survivor" party should be held in a barren, barricaded room, the heat cranked to 110 degrees, and buffet tables covered with nothing but brown grass and sand. But this is... ]]> 20 years of worst best-picture nominees tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120492 2010-02-08T20:14:48Z 2010-02-08T20:14:48Z Barry Koltnow Sometimes, a column idea just falls in your lap. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that it was doubling its annual list of Best Motion Picture nominees from five to 10,... ]]> Werewolves are a hair different in 'The Wolfman' tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120489 2010-02-08T19:00:05Z 2010-02-08T19:00:05Z Frank Lovece Vampires and zombies have staked their own popular patches of film and TV, if the "Twilight" movies, HBO's "True Blood," the CW's "Vampire Diaries" and a brain-full of living-dead movies are any... ]]> Blue whales singing in a lower key tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120487 2010-02-08T18:00:22Z 2010-02-08T18:00:22Z Jill Leovy LOS ANGELES — Blue whales have changed their songs. It's the same old tune, but the pitch of the blues is mysteriously lower — especially off the coast of California where, local... ]]> 'Heart-stopping': Nik Wallenda walks the high wire tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120486 2010-02-08T17:00:29Z 2010-02-08T17:00:29Z January Holmes SARASOTA, Fla. — Acrophobia isn't in Nik Wallenda's vocabulary. The high-wire stuntman proved that last week when he walked a high-wire strapped between the balconies of the One Watergate... ]]> 'The View' gets political , and viewers love it (so does D.C.) tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120482 2010-02-08T16:03:27Z 2010-02-08T16:03:27Z Matea Gold NEW YORK — It was the morning after President Obama's first State of the Union, which typically wouldn't mean much for daytime television shows and their menu of celebrity interviews, cooking... ]]> Over 50 years, Walk of Fame turned Hollywood into destination tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120480 2010-02-08T15:42:36Z 2010-02-08T15:42:36Z Hugo Martin LOS ANGELES — Fifty years ago, the Hollywood Walk of Fame began as a gimmick to lure visitors to a Los Angeles neighborhood that had fallen on hard times in the post-World War II years. In the... ]]> Franken criticizes planned Comcast-NBC Universal merger tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120481 2010-02-08T14:44:20Z 2010-02-08T14:44:20Z Bob Fernandez Claire Danes did homework to play autistic scientist in 'Temple Grandin' tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120386 2010-02-06T14:48:41Z 2010-02-06T14:48:41Z Matea Gold Super Bowl weekend should be another win for 'Avatar' tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120385 2010-02-06T14:46:31Z 2010-02-06T14:46:31Z Ben Fritz Diane Sawyer, gilt-edged newswoman tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120387 2010-02-06T14:45:35Z 2010-02-06T14:45:35Z Mary McNamara Nicholas Sparks is a master of romance, and Hollywood knows it tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120388 2010-02-06T14:44:16Z 2010-02-06T14:44:16Z Amy Kaufman Stirring 'Robin Hood' series leads new DVD sets from BBC tag:popmatters.com,2010:pm/news/23.120384 2010-02-06T14:42:57Z 2010-02-06T14:42:57Z Doug Nye