Since we saw Avatar destroy box office records last year, 3D movies have virtually taken over. Genres from action to animation have been presented in the popular 3D style — some did it well, others not so much.

Well it’s time to add another genre to the list of 3D benefactors: Dance! Step Up 3D will be hitting theaters on August 6th and will be the first ever dance flick shot to be shot in 3D. Last time I checked, none of those blue Avatar creatures had swagger like these kids.

Anyways, make your way over to the Step Up YouTube Channel to see some seriously slick dance moves and movie features. It’s probably one of the most well done promo channels I’ve ever seen on YouTube, so clear your schedule. Be sure to check out the Dance Dub Contest that they have going on, ’cause it’s definitely entertaining. The official movie soundtrack is on there too to check out for some certified club bangers from artists like Flo Rida & David Guetta, Trey Songz, and Roscoe Dash.

Look for the flick at a theatre near you starting August 6th. I’ve included the trailer below to give you a taste. And for all you dance afficionados, see if you can spot the current So You Think You Can Dance All-Star who features in the film.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

According to Wikipedia:

Leona Louise Lewis (born 3 April 1985) is an English pop and R&B singer–songwriter. Lewis rose to fame in 2006 as the winner of the third series of the British television series The X Factor.

Lewis has become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. She has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the UK and Republic of Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. Her second album, Echo, was released in November 2009.

Lewis’s debut single “A Moment Like This” became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. Her second single, “Bleeding Love”, reached number one positions in over thirty singles charts around the world. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song “Run” which sold 69,244 copies in two days. In November 2009, the first set of dates for her 2010 debut world tour were announced.

Lewis has sold over 6.5 million albums worldwide.

Her official Website shares this nugget from her past:

For Lewis, making a solo album was the chance to realize a dream she’s had since the tender age of 5, when her parents (father is Guyanese/mother is Welsh) enrolled her into London’s prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. Lewis then attended the performing arts academy The BRIT School, where she honed her songwriting and production skills. Encouraged by winning several talent contests as a teen, she left school and took part-time jobs ‘” including working in Pizza Hut as a waitress ‘” to earn money to pay for studio time. ‘It was about doing my music,’ she says. ‘It has always been my passion to be a singer and songwriter.’

Here’s the video to “Happy” off her new album:

5. Bella and Edward, New Moon: If you’ve read the Twilight series you already know that the second installment is not pretty for America’s current favorite vampire/mortal lovers.

4. Michael Scott and Pam’s Mom, The Office: How would you feel if your boss was dating your mom & broke up with her on her birthday?

3. Rihanna and Chris Brown: She finally spoke out about the whole thing recently. What did you think?

2. Everyone, the new Melrose Place: This is not the best place to meet your perfect spouse.

1. Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt: I guess you have to give these two credit for knowing how to get themselves in the media (even here), but wouldn’t it be nice if they just went away?

- Hung Up by Madonna
- SexyBack by Justin Timberlake
- Groove is in the Heart by Deee-Lite
- Cyclone by Baby Bash
- Womanizer by Britney Spears
- Bad Romance by Lady GaGa
- My Humps by The Black Eyed Peas
- Umbrella by Rhianna
- Single Ladies by Beyonce
- Fever by Kylie Minogue
- Momma’s Boy by Chromeo

Thus concludes the road trip playlist series. What would you put on your fantasy road trip playlist? We know we left out a ton!

- Alive by Pearl Jam
- Pretty Young Thing by Michael Jackson
- Don’t Tell Me by Madonna
- Violet Hill by Coldplay
- Living on a Prayer by Bon Jovi
- Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton
- Blackbird by The Beatles
- Silent All These Years by Tori Amos
- Staying Alive by The Bee Gees
- Buddy Holly by Weezer
- Fields of Gold by Sting
- Maggie May by Rod Stewart
- Skinny Legs by Lyle Lovett
- Womanizer by Britney Spears (which also makes an appearance on the next playlist: Dancing to Stay Awake)

Everyone’s got their own ideas of what the best sing-along-songs for the car are, and we’d love to know yours. Did we miss something obvious? There are still a lot of miles to go before home!

When you’re driving across America, it’s difficult not to feel nostalgic for all of the famous cross-country road trips you’ve ever heard about before. Volume one of the playlist is inspired by the past: the dust bowl era, the wanderlust of the 1960s, the things you can imagine goofy parents singing in a car, etc. Here’s what we wanted to hear on day one:

- Moonshiner by Bob Dylan
- America by Simon and Garfunkel
- Riding in My Car by Woody Guthrie
- Big Rock Candy Mountain
- The Fishin’ Blues
- The Cuckoo
- I’ve been Everywhere by Johnny Cash

Tune in tomorrow for Volume 2: Sing-Along Songs…

In the most recent episode (review with spoilers here) of AMC’s hit show Mad Men, they re-created the assassination of John F. Kennedy, and it may be the most chilling and evocative dramatization of the event I’ve ever seen. It was definitely the first time I found myself realizing that for the people who lived through that moment, it was a real and raw and shocking thing– not something that had already accumulated dust on history’s shelf or started growing dim with distance. I could feel what the characters were feeling: vulnerability, surprise, uncertainty about the future, despair, etc. And as I caught myself empathizing with fictional people, I started questioning how they were spinning the web I was caught in. Through their clothing, and their hairstyles, and the dialogue, and the acting– and the music.

Although the music during the average episode of Mad Men is subtle enough to fade into the background and just become part of the whole, each episode ends with a carefully chosen song that rises in volume as the credits roll and ties into the theme of the evening. This week’s song about not being in love anymore contributed to the sense of melancholy the show left me with, and it also inspired me to see who else was talking about the music of Mad Men.

You can buy a soundtrack CD on Amazon (see the cover art above), AMC keeps a running list of the songs they’ve featured this season, and they’ve got Mad Men-inspired playlists available on iTunes.

Music is such a huge part of the television and movies we watch, and Mad Men is definitely doing it right in their selection of tunes.

Perhaps you’ve heard of this movie coming out next month called “New Moon”? I think it’s an indie film about a hot, young werewolf who gets pestered by a pale girl and a bunch of emotional vampires. Or something like that… Just kidding!

New Moon, the latest in the Twilight saga, comes out November 20th, and The Vancouver Sun just ran a story on the “spooky” soundtrack that inspired me to look up the lyrics to all of the songs deemed good enough to score the ultimate in teen/occult-love-triangle movies for 2009. MetroLyrics has the whole soundtrack broken down for us already, so here are just a couple of highlights:

Have you ever thought of Death Cab for Cutie as “spooky”? I hadn’t until today, but this sample from their track, “Meet Me on the Equinox” is pretty dark!

Let me give my love to you
Let me take your hand
As we walk in the dimming light
Or darling understand

That everything, everything ends
That everything, everything ends

The Killers also make an appearance on the soundtrack, with a song called “A White Demon Love Song.” My favorite lines from this one are:

White Demon where’s your selfish kiss?
White Demon sorrow will arrange
Let’s not forget about the fear
Black invitation to a place
That cannot change
Wild, strangely holey
Come for a break

Are you swept up in the Twilight frenzy? Have you got the soundtrack? Are you planning to get it? We love to hear from you!