US – Saturday, March 13
The Grid
The week's releases
Metro staff reviews the latest CDs, DVDs and books for your reading pleasure.
 
Music
Run this town
No living man but Jay-Z could get a sold out Boston arena so excited about New York City. But for two hours last night, the sold out crowd at the Garden was in an Empire State of Mind, as “The Blueprint 3” tour rolled into town.
 
My Television
Back in the trenches
Steven Spielberg makes strikingly vivid, breathtakingly poetic movies about some of the most terrifying conflicts in the history of man. The filmmaking aesthetic he pioneered with “Saving Private Ryan” — and continues to perfect in HBO’s new WWII miniseries, “The Pacific” — was born out of a desire to translate as honestly as possible his conversations with veterans on their combat experience.
 
The Word
Is nothing in her life real anymore?
When we first read that Heidi Pratt was firing husband Spencer Pratt as her manager, we thought, “Yay! Heidi’s new face is finally doing something right!” But then we found out that although she did fire Spencer, it seems like she’s replacing him with psychic Aiden Chase to take the reigns on her “career” — and then we got scared.
 
Movies
Pattinson: A vampire in Brooklyn
Robert Pattinson has been playing Americans so often that he has forgotten how to talk like a Brit. In his latest, “Remember Me,” the “Twilight” heartthrob stars as a soulful young New Yorker attending NYU, but he insists he didn’t need any help sounding like a native. “I’ve never had a dialect coach or anything,” Pattinson says. “Ironically, I’ve only had a dialect coach for this film I’m doing now, which I’m doing in an English accent. I guess I’ve forgotten how to do an English accent.”
 
Updated 19:31, August the 18th, 2009
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Get to know...

ALY MICHALKA

Aly Michalka stars in “Bandslam.”Aly Michalka stars in “Bandslam.”
Photo: GETTY IMAGES
 

Aly Michalka might play a teen in the high school flick “Bandslam,” but within seconds of talking to the 20-year-old, you’re met with such self-assuredness, you feel like you’re chatting with a seasoned 30-something.

“I’m kind of an A-type personality. I’m very driven as a person in general,” says the actress, singer and songwriter from her parent’s house in California, where she still lives with her 78violet bandmate and sister, A.J. Today, on a rare day off, she’s laying out and reading “A Wolf at the Table,” by Augusten Burroughs.
 
[1] What’s the last song you listened to on repeat like a maniac?

Actually, [a song] from my own record, called “Freak.” The record is now finished and it’s going to be coming out in the next few months. It’s something that you should love because it’s your own work, but I really love this album and I’m a fan of it. I know that if I was listening to this as a fan, I would be obsessed with it.

[2] What’s your guilty pleasure?

“The Bachelorette.” I don’t really support reality TV shows because I have so many great actor friends that should be in a real TV show. But that’s my guilty pleasure.
 
[3] What’s your favorite word?

Juxtaposition. And then a word that I say frequently is sick.
 
[4] The financial apocalypse is totally ___’s fault.

Our fault. I think as an economy and as people we can be really greedy and think, “it’s all good, we don’t need to cut back,” and then look at what happens. I think it’s a combination of everyone.

 
 
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Music
MMMpod
The March MMMpod features conversation and music from Surfer Blood and The Allman Brothers Band (There's a double-bill you're not too likely to see. However, Gregg Allman does mention Hannah Montana!). We also speak with Vampire Weekend and the Dropkick Murphys.
 
 
 
Metro Life Panel
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