Like totes cray. “The Bing Ring.” A24 Films.

In The Bling Ring, Sofia Coppola uses her signature visual flourishes coupled with banging soundtrack to explore the trappings of youth ennui, suburbia and celebrity culture, a.k.a. the toxic trifecta that seems to have fueled the actual Bling Ring (a group of wealthy West Valley teenagers) to pillage celebrity homes for pricey handbags and designer duds in 2008 and 2009. And I loved it.

Maybe it’s because the satire-slash-true-crime dramedy’s backdrop not unfamiliar. I grew up the next town over from where the Bling Ring hailed and the landmarks in the film (Sagebrush Cantina, beaches Zuma and Venice) are home. Or maybe it’s that unmistakeable Valley Girl patois spoken by the leads (among them newcomers Israel Broussard, Katie Chang, screen vet Leslie Mann, and young superstars Taissa Farmiga and Emma Watson in a role that would have Hermione casting self-awareness spells) that make every statement sound like a question and that more than one non-Californian significant other has accused me of having (as if!). Or maybe it’s that Coppola’s style of satire is so meta-satirical that some scenes look like shot-by-shot, line-by-line remakes of ones from 2010 reality show “Pretty Wild,” right down to the Angelina Jolie vision board. I watched every episode of the show.

Coppola pits the darkness of rich bored teens against the sensory-overload world of underage Hollywood clubbing, suffocatingly tight clothes, reality TV dreams and lifestyle brand aspirations. The scenes where the burglars go “shopping” in Paris Hilton’s home delight and disturb: delightful because how fun would it be to dress-up in a celeb closet, disturbing because they’re stealing stuff and, oh, it happened in real life. Oh, AND THEY’RE STEALING STUFF. Amid the selfies and cigarettes is a self-unaware and funny portrait of privileged punks gone wild with the help of Google Maps and TMZ. To tap into my Valley Girl roots a bit, it’s totes awesomely entertaining.

Some would call surfing a religious experience and if not religious, then at least a spiritual one. Father Christian Mondor seems to agree. He’s an 88-year-old Franciscan priest who picked up the sport at age 70 and through it sees the intersection of God and water. Whatever your faith, this story is moving for anyone who has experienced the natural wonders of our little blue planet, and also for anyone who has thought it’s “too late” to learn how to surf (it isn’t). Given the events of the past week, Earth Day is happening at a juncture when we can all appreciate that we are part of something bigger (yes, planet Earth) and at times inexplicable. Check out the story of the surfing priest here.

County Line surf spot.

The pop culture world will remember many things about Roger Ebert: his words, the impact his thumb had on the box office, the erudite and witty way he talked about films good and bad. I grew up watching Siskel & Ebert, not always interested in every movie the two talked about but always impressed by their banter, their back-and-forth; always envious that they got to see movies before everybody else did.

When BLT debuted at Sundance, the audience no doubt took note of the film’s provocative cast of characters and subject matter, with one member asking the director and stars how they could represent Asian-Americans in such a way? And it’s what Roger Ebert did in response that made for a pretty epic moment for minority filmmakers and actors, Asian or not. Leaping from his seat, he rebutted, “What I find very offensive and condescending about your statement is nobody would say to a bunch of white filmmakers, ‘How could you do this to your people?’ This film has the right to be about these people, and Asian-American characters have a right to be whoever the hell they want to be. They do not have to ‘represent their people.’ ” How refreshing and necessary that the most powerful voice in film criticism and film journalism lent some of his to these filmmakers and actors, only to, ironically, lose his own later in life.

I hope that with Roger Ebert’s passing, we haven’t lost the discourse necessary not only in the film world but also in TV and pop culture generally; progressive discourse that is sometimes belied and undermined by Hollywood’s tendencies to play it safe, play into stereotypes and play right into – not against – type. How far we have come since Better Luck Tomorrow is up for debate, but it’s nice to remember how Ebert contributed to that conversation.

Catch Ebert’s epic moment at Sundance below.

But in contrast to Hathaway and Swift are Hollywood’s, well, not sweethearts but perhaps its BFFs, including Jennifer Lawrence for her off-the-cuff candidness and Mila Kunis for breaking out of rote soundbites during the press tour for Oz the Great and Powerful. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey doing pretty much anything. Women who are equal parts guy’s gal and woman’s woman, who won’t hesitate to name their favorite beer, don’t seem to take their “craft” too seriously or self-importantly, and probably wouldn’t refer to their work as a “craft” anyway.

So, what are the aforementioned ladies getting right that others like Hathaway or Swift seem to be getting wrong? After all, the Hollywood likeability game is a tough one to win at, the grasp of its trophy always hung onto tenuously by the victor. The court of public opinion (and Tumblr blogs) can be vicious and fickle. And sometimes, a “win” isn’t even clear: Girls series creator and star Lena Dunham is as much revered for her work and writing, as she is attacked for going sans clothing on her show.

What makes a female celebrity likeable and does it influence whether you buy an album, go check out her movie or DVR her TV show? Weigh in. Also, check me out guest hosting on the 10 Reasons Why show, video below. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes here and follow on Twitter here.

Despite its marathon telecast, there were still quite a few standout moments (and dresses, if you’re into that kind of stuff, ahem). Below, a few of my personal favorites:

The Prometheus joke. Before he sent the show to break, MacFarlane’s promise that the cast of Prometheus would be up to “explain what the hell was going on there,” made me feel as though he had crawled into my mindspace and done some extraction. My mind from last year about halfway through Prometheus, but still. I’m glad SOMEONE finally brought it up and, hey, why not at the Oscars of all places?

Jennifer Lawrence’s epic faceplant. If there’s anyone who could make totally eating it on her way to collect a Best Actress award, it’s Jennifer Lawrence. Her remarkably self-effacing nature came through last night, hazardous haute couture notwithstanding. And next time, someone please tell her if Hugh Jackman is rushing to your side to help you up, you STAY DOWN UNTIL HE STARTS GIVING YOU CPR.

Ben Affleck’s acceptance speech. I loved Argo. I hated that Affleck didn’t get a Best Director nod. I loved that the movie won Best Picture and that Affleck, more or less, got to give his would-be Best Director speech anyway. Especially poignant was when he acknowledged that to succeed in Hollywood (although I think it can be applied more broadly to just life), “you have to work harder than you think you possibly can. You can’t hold grudges… and that all that matters is you gotta get up.” Which he would definitely know about because he starred in Gigli.

All the sound guys with long, blonde hair. \m/

What were some of YOUR favorite moments?

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