Sunday, December 31, 2017

The 30 Movies You Have to See in 2018

Must-see movie lists are always a bit of a pipe’s dream. Hell, only four of my 33 movies to see in 2017 made my top ten list for the year (although several others came close). Inevitably, some of the year’s best films won’t emerge until film festival season or even later, and those often aren’t the kind of movies the average moviegoer, or myself, get excited for.

For sure, this list has more blockbusters than indie dramas, action movies over heartfelt character studies, comic book adaptations over… well, indie dramas and heartfelt character studies. And for sure, some of these movies will end up being awful (Dark Tower was on my list last year), but others will end up being a blast.

Hollywood, don’t disappoint us!

30. Early Man

From the Wallace & Gromit and Chicken Run crew comes their latest stop-motion comedy, about a Neanderthal (or just really stupid human) who tries to save his lands from Bronze Age invaders.

29. Blockers

Leslie Mann, Ike Barinholtz and John Cena star in this presumably R-rated comedy in which three parents band together to keep their children from having sex on prom night.

28. Aquaman

Will this other solo DC film, which will give Jason Mamoa much more time to flex his muscles and flippers, be more like Justice League or Wonder Woman? For our sakes, let’s hope director James Wan (Furious 7) swims toward the latter.

27. Alita: Battle Angel

James Cameron planned to direct this movie for years before stepping back and letting Robert Rodriguez take the reins. Rodriguez hasn’t made a good movie in at least a decade, but Cameron’s continued involvement as producer and writer ensure that this sci-fi action film shouldn’t be immediately ignored.

26. Mary Poppins Returns

A sequel to Mary Poppins is a risky proposition, but one has to imagine that Disney is taking extreme care with this Christmas Day release. The movie stars Emily Blunt, Meryl Streep and Colin Firth, and is directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago).



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Friday, December 29, 2017

How Does the FHA 90-Day Flip Rule Work?

The 90-day FHA flip rule has caused me delays on a few flips this year. The rule basically says that FHA financing is not allowed on a house for new buyers that was purchased fewer than 91 days ago by the current owner. If you buy a house, fix it up, and try to sell it to FHA buyers, you will have to wait until you have owned the house for 90 days before you can even accept a contract from those buyers. There are some exceptions for certain sellers—like banks and builders—but for flippers, it is almost impossible to

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Keeping Warm with Hoodies from Society6

Keeping Warm with Hoodies from Society6

All of the sudden, it seems like Southern California caught up with the rest of the world in figuring out that it’s winter. There’s a sudden chill in the air that have caught all Southern Californians off-caught (we get thrown off when it’s anywhere less than 80 degrees). To help keep warm, we can all turn to Society6 for stylish hoodies (for both men and women) to keep warm and support emerging artists – it’s a win win situation!

Pug Yoga hoodie by Huebucket

Galactic Female Rebellion by FSDisseny

Black and white face hoodie by Tas Lima

Little Gentleman French Bulldog hoodie by Gabriel

sneaky cat hoodie by Laura Graves

Bear In Whimsical Wild hoodie by Picomodi

Into The Wild hoodie by Andreas Lie

Hi Bear hoodie by beccatapert

In an ongoing effort to support independent artists from around the world, Design Milk is proud to partner with Society6 to offer The Design Milk Dairy, a special collection of Society6 artists’ work curated by Design Milk and our readers. Proceeds from the The Design Milk Dairy help us bring Design Milk to you every day.



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Happy Anniversary to us! Celebrating 15 years in 15 flavors

Thursday, December 28, 2017

The 20 Best Performances of 2017

Each year, I select the top 20 performances of the year. Unlike the Academy Awards or just about any other award process, I don’t categorize by gender or supporting/leading roles.

This year proved to be especially difficult, with several great performances (by great performers) just barely missing the cut. But below are definitively and without question – just don’t ask me tomorrow – the 20 best acting performances of the year.

20. Chris Hemsworth, Thor: Ragnarok

Yes, I realize this list is off to an inauspicious start when I kick things off with the star of a comedic Marvel comic book movie who hasn’t even remotely been in end-of-year acting conversations, but for years Hemsworth has hinted at a largely untapped comedic brilliance (Vacation, Ghostbusters, unintentionally in Blackhat) and director Taika Watiti finally unleashed him to spectacular results.

19. Timothee Chalamet, Call Me By Your Name

As the younger half of the blossoming gay couple in Call Me By Your Name, Chalamet caps his already terrific “I hired the right agent” year (which also includes another Oscar hopeful, Lady Bird, and Hostiles) with an incredible and nuanced performance that has him balancing typical teen angst with longings for an older male. Frankly, I don’t blame him for falling in love with Armie Hammer, either.

18. Daniel Day-Lewis, Phantom Thread

Day-Lewis won Best Actor at the Seattle Film Critics Society Awards, and for good reason: the male version of Meryl Streep delivers another finely tuned and emotionally complex performance as an emotionally abusive dressmaker in Phantom Thread, which reunited him with director Paul Thomas Anderson (whose work together resulted in the best performance of all time in There Will Be Blood).

17. James McAvoy, Split

McAvoy is a terrific actor to begin with, but give him a chance to play 20 odd characters in a genre film about split personality disorder and you get to see him go to a whole new level, in which he relishes in the absurd and strange and everything in between. This is the kind of role(s) that will never get attention come award season (except, he did win Best Villain at the Seattle Film Critics Society Awards), but is deserving nonetheless.

16. Jessica Chastain, Molly’s Game

The Aaron Sorkin drama-thriller is pretty good, but there is little denying that Molly’s Game is Chastain’s game. The talented actress chews threw Sorkin’s meaty dialogue to serve up a riveting and fierce performance as a poker madame who reaches amazing heights and hits incredible lows.

15. Robert Pattinson, Good Time

In Good Time, Pattinson, still best known for being awful in the awful Twilight series, shows that when given good material he can shine… or, as a low-level criminal on the run from authorities, immerse himself so deeply in the grit, grime and sweat of his character that he’s nearly unrecognizable.

14. Danielle Macdonald, Patti Cake$

Despite solid reviews, the female version of 8 Mile came and went with a flash over the summer, which makes it very easy to forget or overlook the incredible performance that Macdonald brings as wannabe white rapper Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$ to the stage.

13. Laurie Metcalf, Lady Bird

Metcalf, who plays the title character’s loving but has-a-major-stick-up-her-ass mother, still is Jackie from “Roseanne” to me (or, hell, the killer in Scream 2). But in Lady Bird, she ratchets things up a notch to give one of the most splendid and emotionally complex performances of the year.

12. Bria Vinaite, The Florida Project

Do you think trained actors who have put in blood, sweat and years for their craft hate people like Bria Vinaite? As one of the stars in the Oscar contending film, in which she plays an emotionally, morally and maturity stunted (yet still sort of loving) mother, you’d probably be surprised to discover that a) those body tattoos are real; and b) she’d never acted before in her life. If I were an actor, I probably would.

11. Willem Dafoe, The Florida Project

Dafoe stands out like a sore thumb in The Florida Project, not just because he’s the only recognizable face in the film but because his character, whose sole job is to keep the hotel he manages and its inhabitants from tearing everything apart, is the only form of rationality and calm you’ll find. Dafoe nails the role, a man who seems content with a thankless job.

10. Meryl Streep, The Post

It has essentially become cliché to give Meryl Streep awards or put her on lists such as these, but then again, she continues to crank out amazing performances. In The Post, she spends most of her time dropping her eyes and stammering as the men around her tell her to stay in place, and then she drops the mic with a simple line such as “I’m going to bed” and all is good in this world.

9. Michael Fassbender, Alien: Covenant

Fassbender isn’t going to get any major awards this year for starring in a movie such as Alien: Covenant (which was just OK), but then again, there aren’t a lot of movies where an actor gets to play two different characters and make out with himself, either. Fassbender’s David is an incredibly fascinating and disturbed character, one whose story I hope continues in the future.

8. Margot Robbie, I, Tonya

You know what they say: for a beautiful actress to win big, she has to go ugly. And I, Tonya is sort of an ugly movie, intentionally so, with Robbie, uglified or at least neutralized to play infamous Tonya Harding, leading the pack. Robbie is fantastic in the lead, to the point that you may not even realize how good she is at first (seriously, I had to watch the film twice to figure it out).

7. Tiffany Haddish, Girls Trip

Comedic performances often don’t get a lot of attention, and certainly not by me. But when forming lists such as this, I usually think about who stood out over the course of 365 days, and who I’ll remember years from now… and Haddish’s turn as a raucous and ridiculous friend gives us, by far, one of the most memorable and funniest characters of 2017.

6. Saoirse Ronan, Lady Bird

Saoirse “How the Hell Do I Pronounce Her Name” Ronan has already been nominated for two Oscars, and a third is likely in the cards after her turn as the title character, a pretty typical teenage girl (other than opting to go by the name Lady Bird) with typical teenage girl problems. Ronan is fantastic, elevating the material to new heights.

5. Gary Oldman, Darkest Hour

Oldman is expected to win his first Oscar for his immersive, scene-chewing turn as Winston Churchill, which immediately should make any rational being immediately ask, “How the hell has Gary Oldman not won an Oscar before, let alone only been nominated once before?” He deserves it, and better win.

4. Barry Keoghan, The Killing of a Sacred Deer

Few characters evoke as much emotion – especially hatred – as Barry Keoghan’s sociopathic and emotionless Martin in the disturbed thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer. Keoghan methodically lays the foundations of his characters before unleashing the true darkness within, and while most people will never watch (nor appreciated) Sacred Deer, his performance is one to be reckoned with.

3. Patrick Stewart, Logan

Patrick Stewart is an odd duck, because he’s one of those actors who everyone acknowledges is a great performer, and yet when you question why he’s never even been nominated for an Oscar, all you have to do is look at his filmography to see that he has largely stuck to genre fare – Star Trek and X-Men – and villain roles for whatever reason. In Logan, he returns to his Professor X role once more, but finally breaks down and unleashes a performance worthy of true recognition. Sadly, he won’t get it. Except here.

2. Sam Rockwell, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

Few characters have been so divisive as Sam Rockwell’s Dixon, a racist (and idiotic) cop who is being investigated for beating a black man but who doesn’t get taken off the force until he beats up a white guy–yet who is given a redemptive arc nonetheless. But regardless of what you think of how his character is handled, there is little denying that Rockwell, who has always excelled at quirky, offbeat characters, is at his very best here.

1. Frances McDormand, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

When looking back over this list, there were few performances that, at the end of the movie, made me go, “wow.” McDormand, as the emotionally fragile yet fiercely determined protagonist in Three Billboards, had me go, “wow.” Her character is no saint, has a mouth like a sailor, is tough as nails, and yet is so empty inside that she could collapse into nothingness at the slightest touch. McDormand seems a perfect fit for the role and nails it, giving us what, in my mind, is easily the best performance of 2017.



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Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Will Money Make You Happy?

There is a lot of debate about whether money makes people happy. Some are big believers that money will bring you more happiness, while others feel there is a limit to what money can do. There was a major study done that showed making more money will make you happier, but there is a limit to that correlation once you hit a certain income level. There was another study done that showed making more money will make you happier, and the more money you make, the happier you will be. I have done well in the real estate business with

The post Will Money Make You Happy? appeared first on Invest Four More.



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Listen to Episode 47 of Clever: Jen Bekman

Listen to Episode 47 of Clever: Jen Bekman

In this episode, entrepreneur and internet pioneer, Jen Bekman, tells the story of how she founded 20×200 with a mission of making art collecting a possibility for everyone. On the leading edge of ecommerce, 20×200 achieved enormous initial success and grew very quickly. Jen tells her powerful story of adapting her business on-the-fly as the internet landscape shifted dramatically under her feet, her perseverance fed by a deep belief that living with art is good for you, and the creation of art itself is an act of bravery. Bravo, lady! Listen:


Stay tuned for a new episode of Clever in two weeks! Don’t miss an episode: Subscribe to Clever on Apple PodcastsStitcherGoogle PlaySoundCloud, or use our feed http://ift.tt/1TbcZr2 to subscribe via your favorite podcast app.

Follow Clever on FacebookTwitter and Instagram. And most importantly, please spread the word to anyone who you think would like it.



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Best Art Posts of 2017

From miniature test tube sculptures to botanical prints to an Instagram-worthy museum dedicated to ice cream, we featured just about every kind of art throughout 2017, all of which kept our eyes visually stimulated. Want to find out which Art posts were the most popular this year? Check out the top 10…

Best Art Posts of 2017

10. Wardrobe Snacks: A Project Inspired by Diners Lacking a Table
Snack enthusiasts, Pinch Food Design, checked out Wardrobe Snacks, a project inspired by diners eating without the luxury of a table.

Tara Donovan. Detail of “Composition (Cards)” 2017. Photographed by David Behringer © Tara Donovan, courtesy of Pace Gallery

9. Tara Donovan: Vertical Poetry
A look at Tara Donovan’s latest wall sculptures that are composed of THOUSANDS of white styrene cards that are individually stacked, glued, and rotated 90 degrees.

8. Miniature Test Tube Sculptures By Rosa de Jong
Micro Matter consisted of multiple upside down glass test tubes, each with its own miniature world, whether they’re houses, skyscrapers, or even campsites.

7. An E-Commerce Success Story: Lark + Raven on Squarespace
We learned how one designer, Ali Macdonald, transitioned out of the daily grind and into a job as a full-time designer for LARK+RAVEN.

6. Pangea Maps: Wooden 3D Contour Maps of Iconic Waterscapes
Pangea Maps creates sculptural, 3D layered maps that showcase various lakes and coastlines in Australia, the United States, and Canada.

5. Forest of Numbers by Emmanuelle Moureaux
Forest of Numbers spanned a 2000 square meter exhibition space and consisted of over 60,000 numbers in 100 colors suspended, looking like binary code.

4. Sky Villages: An Interactive Children’s Installation
James Paulius’ Sky Villages encourageed children to build architectural structures from blocks as part of an interactive installation.

3. Three Danish Companies Release Transparent Botanical Prints
MOEBE, Paper Collective, and Norm Architects, joined forces to release a series of art prints that were designed specifically to hang within the MOEBE frame.

Untitled (Avocado Box), 2016

2. This is Wood: The Sculpture of Matt Johnson
Matt Johnson presented 4 cardboard boxes, 5 rolls of painters tape, 2 broken styrofoam chunks, and more garbage… that were all 100% carved and painted wood. Incredible.

And the #1 most popular art post of 2017 is…

1. LA’s New Museum of Ice Cream Is the Coolest
We took you for a virtual visit to the Museum of Ice Cream in LA with 12 different rooms, each with quirky installations that were right out of Willy Wonka’s playbook.



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Monday, December 25, 2017

Happy Holidays + New Year from All of Us

Happy Holidays + New Year from All of Us

Above: Sparkling Diamonds 2018 by Looly Elzayat

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year from our team. Thank you for reading Design Milk this year! We can’t wait to show you what we have in store in 2018.

We’ll be posting lightly from now until January 2nd. Keep checking back to see some of the best and most popular posts of 2017.

Above: Simple Moon Phases Calendar 2018, Northern Hemisphere by Illusoriu



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Friday, December 22, 2017

Best Friday Five Posts of 2017

Every Friday in 2017, we reached out to a designer, artist, architect, or design professional to give us some insight into what makes them tick, by sharing five things – it could be what inspires them, things or people they love, or basically anything. Each person comes back with a different list of answers that keep us intrigued and going back for more. Here, we look back at the most popular Friday Five posts from this year.

Best Friday Five Posts of 2017

10. Friday Five with Andrew Kim
Andrew Kim, a young designer at Tesla with a keen eye, enormous amounts of talent, and a bright future ahead, shared five of his favorite things.

9. Friday Five with Jennifer Fisher of J.Fisher Interiors
Austin, Texas based interior designer Jennifer Fisher of J.Fisher Interiors shared a mix of inspirational picks, in this Friday Five.

8. Friday Five with Gaurav Nanda
Michigan-born Gaurav Nanda founded Los Angeles-based Bend Goods in 2010 and has been combining his love of sculpture and design ever since.

7. Friday Five with Zane Bevan of Robinhood
This Friday Five checked in with the Zane Bevan, the Creative Director at Robinhood, the popular app that lets anyone trade stock without any fees.

6. Friday Five with Sharon Blaustein
Israeli-born, Manhattan-based Sharon Blaustein shared a few of her favorite things, including her hometown and adorable dog, in this Friday Five.

5. Friday Five with Mara Silber
Interior designer Mara Silber shared a selection of favorites and sources of inspiration, from quirky locales to delicious beverages.

4. Friday Five with Ellen O’Neill of Benjamin Moore & Co.
For this Friday Five, color expert Ellen O’Neill, Creative Director of Benjamin Moore & Co., shared her colorful perspective.

3. Friday Five with Dan Brunn
Tel Aviv-born, Los Angeles-based architect Dan Brunn, AIA, shared a handful of his favorite things, including music, art, and a car.

2. Friday Five with India Mahdavi
Paris-based architect and designer India Mahdavi shared some of her favorite awe-inspiring places, along with her lucky color.

And the top Friday Five post of 2017 is…

1. Friday Five with Alison Berger
We checked in with Los Angeles-based Alison Berger who’s an artist that brings an extensive design and architectural background to her visionary work.



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