Taylor Swift and a few from her BFF brigade are having the most momtastic 4th of July, ever, according to their active Instagramming. And no, she’s not throwing back brewskis and grilling hot dogs over an open flame — hers is a fête far more sophisticated than all that.

The singer and her buds — models Jaime King and Amanda Griffith — are on a weekend holiday of sorts, complete with cake-baking selfies and even a slow-motion swimming video. Because that’s what your run-of-the-mill, 24-year-old Americans are doing these days, right?

The trio of überblondes are currently hanging out somewhere beachside, and getting their patriotism on in true Swiftian style.

Australian Griffith, it seems, was getting her first taste of ‘Merican traditions with the cake-making, proving Swift is quite the ambassador:

But even with all that momming around, Swift still managed to act her age a wee bit, as evidenced by King’s chuckleworthy video:

USA! USA! USA (but not too loud. You’ll wake Olivia Benson)!

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Ah yes, fourth of July weekend. It’s one of the biggest weekends of the year for the cinematic box office, rife with blockbusters and mega-action flicks aplenty. But what’s out there for those of us who may not be so keen on spending their movie-watching hours digging into, say, a movie about autobots? There’s John Carney’s (he of “Once” fame) latest, “Begin Again,” which eschews singer-songwriters as actors for movie stars-as-singers (Keira Knightley, Mark Ruffalo) — with the exception of Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine.

Given the film’s indie feel, loveletter to New York air, and warm-fuzzy love thing as told through music, plenty of you out there are likely want to see it. (Director John Carney’s first film, “Once,” may have made you feel the same.) But is the film worth your time? And just how good is Levine in his big screen debut? We’ve scoured the Internet to see what the critics have to say so you know exactly what you’re in for when you head to the cineplex. (Yes, we said cineplex. Just go with it.) Turns out? Begin Again feels like the musical romantic comedy you’ve been waiting for

The Music is Fun
“I reveled in the charm, the romance and most of all the bevy of terrific songs, composed by Gregg Alexander, the pop maestro behind the short-lived 1990s project New Radicals. (If you still turn up the volume on your earbuds when “You Get What You Give” comes on, ...

Aww shucks, superkid — why so glum? What is it about Zack Snyder’s “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice” that has both you and the bat one so down in the dumps? Is this, like, a seasonal affective disorder situation? (I mean, it does seem mighty rainy where you are.) Or are you just feeling generally ho-hum because it’s hard to be a superhero?

After Henry Cavill’s underpantsless superhero was revealed Thursday morning on Twitter, much of the Internet found itself concerned over the heavy emotional weight the boy from Krypton seems to be lost within. And in an uncharacteristic moment of concern, the Internet took pity on poor Kal-El and decided to cheer him up the only way they knew how: through the magic of photoshop.

Like this circus-y take:

Or this smirking equivalent of photoshop facial reconstruction:

This tender lover’s embrace kills two birds with one stone (because man oh man does Snyder seem interested in super-sad superheroes):

So cheer up, buttercup! You’re Superman — don’t let the rain get you down.

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Goddamnit, Paul Rudd, you ageless, unnaturally kind and generally superchill dude and number one man on probably/literally everyone’s sex list regardless of sexual or gender identity: why are you just so fantastic? How is it that you never cease to impress and amaze with your overall awesomeness? What is your trick? How do you make us love you with every single insignificant thing you do? Are you a sorcerer or a warlock? There are honestly not enough adjectives in the English language to describe you — that’s how hyperbolic our appreciation of you is, Ruddy boy.

All of which was quadrupled when we saw this photo a Reddit user posted his pregnancy announcement photo (which under most circumstances would garner nary more than an “eh,” if not a full-blown “ugh”) wherein Rudd got in on the gag, complete with a reference to the Judd Apatow film “Knocked Up,” in which he played a part.

How do you do it, Rudd? What is your secret? Tell us, tell us now! And for the love of Kelly Clarkson, never change, OK?

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Listen, we’re generally of the belief that there might be something seriously wrong with Shia LaBeouf and his recent bout of erratic behavior. For that reason, we’re adverse to poking fun at him. Regardless of his public life, something very private is going on with him. Maybe that’s why Liza Minnelli’s rep sent him a DVD copy of “Cabaret”.

According to Minnelli’s rep, Scott Gorenstein, he “just had to” send LaBeouf a copy of the 1972 movie take on the musical—Liza both starred in the film and won the Oscar for Best Actress for her work in it. Gorenstein also said he “figured he may want to find out how it ends.” Of course, this is a play off Shia’s recent uncouth behavior at a Broadway performance of “Cabaret” that led to his arrest.

We’re going to assume it was nothing more than a gesture of kindness amidst a sea of shenanigans currently plaguing the actor. After all, Minnelli knows all-too-well what its like to be on the receiving end of negative press in times of trouble.

At the risk of piling on, another video has surfaced that has us even more worried. Recently, his attention-grabbing moments seem to stem from places of desperate, emotional overreaction — not the work of someone trying to make a scene just because. In this latest bizarre video, LaBeouf is shown trying to pick a fight with a guy outside a strip club.

The footage was obtained by TMZ (because who ...

Apparently Zendaya will no longer portray Aaliyah in the Lifetime movie about the singer. That was fast!

According to a source that spoke to E! News, the shake-up has nothing to do with the backlash surrounding her casting — to which Aaliyah’s family responded — and everything to do with “do[ing] it right.”

E! News also went on to explain that there were some pretty major production issues standing in the way of that, like obtaining the rights to Aaliyah’s music. Which… yeah, seems like a pretty big deal if you ask us!

“Aaliyah has always been an inspiration to Zendaya. She was honored to portray her and pay tribute to her,” the source said, before adding that “If she is going to do it, she wants to do it right.”

Considering the fact that the film was supposed to begin production this summer with a fall premiere, a lack of rights on the musical front — in addition to losing its star — could mean several things for the tentatively titled Aaliyah: Princess of R&B.

First, it seems inevitable that there will be a delay of some sort, either in filming or its release date.

Secondly, they could move forward without the songs, which just seems silly, but isn’t unprecedented (see: those 353457348957 Jeff Buckley biopics). Or the whole project could be scrapped completely — though that seems largely unlikely given the press surrounding the film.

Who’s your next choice for the role? ...

File this one under “things that we love that have happened”: the cast of Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” got in on the Pride celebrations with their own float. Naturally, it was the best.

Why yes, that is Taystee, Poussey, Daya, Morello, and Bennett floating their way down the New York City streets. Pretty fantastic, isn’t it?

Thankfully there’s more where that came from:

Poussey might be winning Pride, just saying. These summery outfits are much better than those orange jumpsuits for preening on a float.

And over on Instagram, the cuteness continued:

Given that this year’s Grand Marshal of the NYC Pride parade was series star Laverne Cox, it’s no surprise some of the other gals showed up to support.

But it wasn’t just in New York that pride revelers were treated to a bit of OITNB love. Big Boo was over in San Francisco, ensuring that the Litchfield Ladies were represented all across the country:

So just to summarize: the ladies of OITNB are the best (as is Bennett! We see you) and their pride at Pride is clearly the greatest, the end.

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

Remember back in 2010 when folk singer Lissie put her terrific spin on Kid Cudi‘s “Pursuit of Happiness” and it was wonderful, cross-genre fun for all? You know, the one that was so epic that ScHoolboy Q sampled it for his own song “Hands On The Wheel”?

Well, the cover got so big that Cudi got wind of itsomehow— and he hopped up on stage during the singer’s show in Paris last night to show his approval.

The newly blondified Cudi initially seemed to prefer basking in Lissie’s badass glow rather than join in on tackling singing duties, but after being overtaken by the performance of this modern-day “Janis Joplin” (as he calls her), the artist alternatively known as Scott Mescudi decided to grab the mic and vibe out.

It’s all just very charming and cool and musical and really, what’s better on a Sunday afternoon, eh?

For those of you out there who’ve yet to hear Lissie’s original take on the tune from 2010 (and what’s wrong with you that you haven’t?), we’ve also included that below because, you know what? We’re not afraid to be servicey here, folks. The more you know the more you enjoy.

Alicia Lutes

Too much exuberance for one person. Follow her on Twitter @alicialutes.

There are plenty of reasons to love Sir Elton John. He has serious eyewear game, he’s written some of the most iconic pop songs of the past fifty years, and he’s a committed champion for human rights everywhere.

And his remarks about Jesus Christ’s hypothetical stance on gay marriage are totally spot-on.

Speaking in an interview with Sky News, John stated, “If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen. He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that’s what the church should be about.”

Though John stated he believes there are “signs of hope” everywhere in the changing tide of long-held religious beliefs, there are still miles to go.

“These are old and stupid things,” he said. “Globally, we seem to have gone backwards over the last 18 months, in certain areas.”

But it’s not just in England — where the Church of England’s refusal to allow gay clergy to marry, in addition to the requirement that Catholic priests remain celibate, are big issues for John — the singer also has his eye on influencing the fraught sexual politics in places like Russia.

“I’m going to Russia in November, and I will try and meet Putin and I will try to talk to him. I don’t know what good it will do. But unless you build a bridge…It’s no good ...

It’s probably safe to assume that no one would ever categorize “Transformers: Age of Extinction” as a love story — though one man in China probably hopes his own romantic comedy will begin due to the Michael Bay film.

At least that’s the reasoning behind why he bought hundreds of tickets to IMAX screenings of the film — to prove to a woman who once rebuffed his romantic advances seven years ago (yup — SEVEN!) that he’s a regular ol’ Moneybags now. Really.

According to The South China Morning Post, a man named Wang (it’s his last name, you children) bought hundreds of tickets to a bevy of Beijing IMAX screenings of the film in order to prove his financial security to a woman. As the story is told from his point of view, she upped and moved to Beijing immediately after Wang was unable to afford to take her out on a movie date. So now that Mr. Wang is rolling in the proverbial dough, he’s decided to spend a quarter of a million yuan (Read: $40,000) to buy out all the seats in four of the six IMAX theaters in the capitol city. To prove to a woman that she made some big, huge mistake.

Taking to his Weibo blog (Weibo is essentially China’s answer to Facebook and Twitter), Wang touted his so-called romantic gesture to say, “I only want to say that you might have been wrong when you made that decision.” Because nothing says ...