Before we get to the top 10 at the box office, here are a few pop culture quick hits:

Iron Man as Sherlock Holmes

There are two big-budget Sherlock Holmes movies in the work. One stars Will Ferrell as Dr. Watson and Borat as Sherlock. It’s, presumably, a comedy. The other is by Guy Ritchie, the husband of Madonna who directed Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (two underrated British gangster flicks). It stars Robert Downey Jr. as the detective and Jude Law as the doc. Here are the first-look pics, courtesy of justjared.com:




They have photos of Law as Watson here.

First, we’re excited about this movie, because we love Sherlock Holmes, and we used to think Ritchie could be a great director, then he made a bunch of horrible movies, some of which starred his wife. It’s good to see him get a second shot. Second, Downey Jr. is, possibly, the biggest name in Hollywood right now. At least the hottest. It’s interesting to see what he can do with the character (although he looks like Charlie Chaplin in the photo ... why can’t he wear the classic Holmes outfit?)

To tide you over, if you are in the mood for some Sherlock goodness. We recommend these two lesser-known Holmes flicks:

1. Young Sherlock Holmes



This would have been a great premise for a TV series. Too bad this never took off. It was like Harry Potter before Harry Potter.

2. Without a Clue




Another great premise. Sherlock is an alcoholic. Watson is the smart detective who works behind the scenes and lets Holmes take all the credit. Very clever.

Mark Wahlberg has no sense of humor

Two weeks ago, Saturday Night Live did a sketch called “Mark Wahlberg talks to animals.” The former leader of the Funky Bunch didn’t find it so funny, according to TMZ.

Bad form, Mark. Even Sarah Palin pretended she found her sketch funny. (Even though she said she “watched” it with the sound off. This sort of stuff makes our head explode. How can you find a sketch funny and then say you watched it with the sound off!?!? Politicians hate the truth. It’s like the truth beat them up in middle school and now they spend their every moment trying to get back at it.)

We’re not so sure we found the Wahlberg sketch that funny either. It’s a tough call. We’re a fan of offbeat impersonations (Andy Samberg ALMOST nails Wahlberg. Really close. Who else does a Wahlberg impersonation? We’re not sure we’ve every heard one.) And we like surreal sketches that don’t really make sense. But, we’re not sure why, we just weren’t crazy about it. It tries a little too hard to be out there.

And when the audience erupts in laughter before you actually even say anything, we get turned off. It’s like the humor is in the premise, not the sketch itself. Judge for yourself:

Top 10 at the box office

1. “Beverly Hills Chihuahua,” $17.5 million.
2. “Quarantine,” $14.2 million.
3. “Body of Lies,” $13.1 million.
4. “Eagle Eye,” $11 million.
5. “Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist,” $6.5 million.
6. “The Express,” $4.7 million.
7. “Nights in Rodanthe,” $4.6 million.
8. “Appaloosa,” $3.34 million.
9. “The Duchess,” $3.32 million.
10. “City of Ember,” $3.2 million.

We’re sick that the stupid dog movie is still No. 1. Aren’t we about to enter a Depression? Good to see we learned our lesson about spending our money wisely. $17 million for a talking dog movie. Unreal. We should be embarrassed.




Anyway, No. 3 is Body of Lies, the latest from Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio (the two stars were previously in The Quick and the Dead, the Sam Raimi western, an underrated flick). In honor of the duo, we’re going to list our top five DiCaprio and top five Crowe films. We’re curious what your thoughts are before we post. Any faves? (By the way, you know it will be a good DiCaprio movie if he has facial scruff, and a good Crowe movie if he is fat.)

New PopCast!!

If you haven’t downloaded this week’s PopCast, you are missing out. This week, the gang takes on MANswers. What men really want to know (according to Spike TV, which no one watches). Also, politics and film clash with "W" and "American Carol." Share the laughs.




You can listen to it live or download it here or on the PopPulse front page. You can also subscribe to it through iTunes. Do a search for the Beaufort Gazette.