Merry Christmas Everybody!

Remember Santa is watching you!

Quantum of Solace

A little bit late in posting these thoughts but here goes. :)

I was a little disappointed in the latest Bond movie, QUANTUM OF SOLACE. Daniel Craig is still very good as James Bond but the rest of the film needs more work. The action scenes used the current 'shaky cam' method and were just hard to follow what was going on. The plot was pretty weak as well. The main villain even died off-screen. That's not very 'Bond.'

Overall not the worst Bond movie ever, but fairly mediocre.

Crime Time

Yeah, yeah, I never talk about the Halloween movies. Trust me, you're better off not knowing.

I do have two crime flicks to recommend. I recently rewatched THE LIMEY. It was better than I remember. It may not be everyone's cuppa tea but it's right up my alley. Terence Stamp is a British ex-con who's come to LA to look into the death of his daughter. Quirky little film directed by Steven Soderbergh.

I also rewatched THE LOOKOUT, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jeff Daniels. Another quirky crime film but maybe a little easier to follow than THE LIMEY.

That's a couple quick recommendations. More soon.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everybody. I'm planning on watching a few scary movies tonight. Turner Classic Movies has a pretty wacky selection of movies tonight, so I'll probably tune in for that. The've got films based on H. P. Lovecraft works and a couple of Herschel Gordon Lewis classics. Tune back in for a report on what I watch in a couple days or so.

More TeeVees

I'm back! Gonna try and get back to posting so keep your fingers crossed.

So the new Fall tv season is underway and I've given several news shows a try but none have really caught on with me. FRINGE, ELEVENTH HOUR, and LIFE ON MARS each got a one episode try-out. I didn't really dislike any of them but I guess I wasn't really looking for a new tv show to latch onto. THE MENTALIST is another new show I've watched and it's not too bad. I've watched several episodes of it and will probably give it a little while longer.

How about returning favorites? HEROES continues to frustrate me, LIFE is still pretty good. CRIMINAL MINDS is still good (and this week had a bonus Wil Wheaton appearance). PUSHING DAISIES might be even better in it's second season. CHUCK remains entertaining... and I can't think of anything else right now. :)

What are you folks watching?

TeeVee

Still be a slacker and not updating as often as I'd like. Here's a quick tv realted post to tide everyone over.

The new Fall season is about to start but I wanted to mention a few off-season shows, most of which air on cable.

BURN NOTICE and PSYCH are both on my must-see list. BURN NOTICE is kind of the Equalizer meet Miami Vice with a dash of Bruce Campbell. It's a fun action/adventure show. PSYCH is a detective show with a heavy dose of snark. The main character is a pretend psychic who works freelance for the police dept.

I also like EUREKA on the Sci Fi Channel. If I had to come up with a comparison, I'll say this one is Northern Exposure meets Real Genius, but the main character is a sheriff not a doctor. :)

Last but not least, there's THE MIDDLEMAN. It's sort of a superhero/X-Files type thing but funny. Or it's funny to me. Lots of pop culture references and funny, cheesy plots. Not everyone's cup of tea but I like it.

Slacker

I haven't posted in a while because I've been a slacker. :) I meant to write a review of THE DARK KNIGHT but couldn't quite put it together, so I'll just say I liked it.

I did get SPACED on DVD for my birthday, so I'll post on that once I start watching it.

More soon.

Hellboy

I saw HELLBOY 2: THE GOLDEN ARMY and I liked it okay. It didn't knock my socks off but I was entertained. Parts of it didn't quite click with me or grab my interest, but it had some neat monsters and it looked pretty. :)

Weird Movie Alert!

Turner Classic Movies is showing the movie SKIDOO this weekend (late Friday night/early Sat morning). What kinda movie is SKIDOO? Well, the cast includes Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Frankie Avalon, Cesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, Mickey Rooney and Groucho Marx, and it's directed by Otto Preminger. It's gotta be a winner, right?

Wait, there's more. It's a 1960's comedy about mobsters, hippies, and LSD. With a score by Harry Nilsson! How awesome is it?! Well, it's just plain awful... but it might be worth watching a little bit of just for the experience. :)

Delightful...

Hello, Mr. Bond

The first trailer for the latest James Bond movie, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, is out.

Check it out. www.moviefone.com/movie/quantum-of-solace/26922/main

Looks pretty darn good!

WALL*E = AWE*SOME

I saw WALL*E earlier today and really enjoyed it. It's one of the best of Pixar's movies, in my opinion. And "Presto", the short film before WALL*E, is awesome too. :)

AFI's 10 Top 10 - Part 3

Finishing up posting the lists...

Mystery

1 Vertigo
2 Chinatown
3 Rear Window
4 Laura
5 The Third Man
6 The Maltese Falcon
7 North by Northwest
8 Blue Velvet
9 Dial M for Murder
10 The Usual Suspects

Mostly okay. The Usual Suspects seems like it might belong more on the 'gangsters' list.

Romantic Comedies

1 City Lights
2 Annie Hall
3 It Happened One Night
4 Roman Holiday
5 The Philadelphia Story
6 When Harry Met Sally...
7 Adam's Rib
8 Moonstruck
9 Harold and Maude
10 Sleepless in Seattle

Harold and Maude?! I like Harold and Maude but I don't think I've ever considered it a romantic comedy.

Courtroom Drama

1 To Kill a Mockingbird
2 12 Angry Men
3 Kramer vs. Kramer
4 The Verdict
5 A Few Good Men
6 Witness for the Prosecution
7 Anatomy of a Murder
8 In Cold Blood
9 A Cry in the Dark
10 Judgment at Nuremberg

In Cold Blood should be on the 'gangsters' (i.e. crime movie) list. Kramer vs. Kramer doesn't really fit either. And where the heck is Inherit the Wind?!

Epics

1 Lawrence of Arabia
2 Ben-Hur
3 Schindler's List
4 Gone with the Wind
5 Spartacus
6 Titanic
7 All Quiet on the Western Front
8 Saving Private Ryan
9 Reds
10 The Ten Commandments

Another list that's no really a genre. And there's some weird stuff on this one too. Schindler's List? A good film, certainly, but an epic? I guess Titanic and Saving Private Ryan are close to what I'd call 'epic' but I don't think I would have included either one.

The really odd thing to me is that there's no 'Horror' list. They could have called it 'Suspense' if they wanted to separate themselves from today's horror movies but it really strikes me odd that there's a list of fantasy movies and no list of horror movies.

AFI's 10 Top 10 - Part 2

Continuing posting the latest AFI lists...

Sports

1. Raging Bull
2. Rocky
3. The Pride of the Yankees
4. Hoosiers
5. Bull Durham
6. The Hustler
7. Caddyshack
8. Breaking Away
9. National Velvet
10. Jerry Maguire

Jerry Maguire seems a little out of place on this list, as does The Hustler. And it just seems kind of weird that the top two movies are boxing movies.

Westerns

1 The Searchers
2 High Noon
3 Shane
4 Unforgiven
5 Red River
6 The Wild Bunch
7 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8 McCabe and Mrs. Miller
9 Stagecoach
10 Cat Ballou

Each of these lists seem to have at least one odd choice on there. Cat Ballou and McCabe & Mrs Miller seem a little odd for this list but at least they're Westerns.

Gangsters

1 The Godfather
2 Goodfellas
3 The Godfather Part II
4 White Heat
5 Bonnie and Clyde
6 Scarface (1932)
7 Pulp Fiction
8 The Public Enemy
9 Little Caesar
10 Scarface (1983)

Seems like this one should really be called "Crime Movies" but they didn't ask me. My main problems with this list is that the way over-rated Scarface (1983 version) is on it. I just don't get the facination with the film.


To be continued...

AFI's 10 Top 10

The latest American Film Institute tv special was on tonight and it was the usual 'list o' movies.' This time it was the top ten movies in ten different movie genres. Kinda wacky. Here's the lists plus some random commentary from me.

Animation

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Bambi
4. The Lion King
5. Fantasia
6. Toy Story
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Shrek
9. Cinderella
10. Finding Nemo

Nothing too shocking here, but nothing too exciting either (at least to me). It is kind of irritating that they still don't realize animation isn't a genre.

Fantasy

1. The Wizard of Oz
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
3. It's a Wonderful Life
4. King Kong
5. Miracle on 34th Street
6. Field of Dreams
7. Harvey
8. Groundhog Day
9. The Thief of Bagdad
10. Big

Kinda wacky list. It would've been nice if there was at least one Ray Harryhausen movie.

Science Fiction

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. Blade Runner
7. Alien
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
10. Back to the Future

Two Kubrick movies? Two Ridley Scott movies? Back to the Future? That's our top ten? I really don't know about this particular list.

I'll post some of the other lists later but feel free to comment on what you've seen so far.

HULK

I saw THE INCREDIBLE HULK today and thought it was pretty good. I think Ang Lee's HULK still might be a better movie but this one was entertaining, plus it had lots of little Easter Eggs for fans of the characters, either in comics or on tv. However, for me, IRON MAN is still the movie to beat this year.

BEA Highlights

As I mentioned earlier, not a whole lot to report from this year's Book Expo but I'll mention a few things that happened or that I saw.

I had a few travel problems that ultimately lead to me getting my suitcase about 12 hours after I'd gotten to Los Angeles. The day after I got there was mostly filled with meetings, which included Ed Begley Jr. speaking at a morning meeting and one on graphic novels that included Scott McCloud.

I had a little free time between meetings the first day, so I walked around some. The hotel was in Hollywood and part of a complex that includes the Chinese Theater (where the footprints are). The Hollywood Walk of Fame also passes by the area. I guess the thing for some folks to do is put on costumes and hang out on Hollywood Blvd near the Chinese Theater in hopes someone will want a picture of you or with you. I saw Batman, Superman, a couple Spider-Men (regular and black costume), some Supergirls, Catwomen, Marilyn Monroe, Freddy Krueger, Laurel & Hardy, and an Iron Man who looked like his suit was cobbled together from a Stormtrooper and Boba Fett. It was like a mini science fiction convention.

The next couple days were the trade show, which is huge. Lots of booths and lots of free stuff. I saw William Shatner and Alec Baldwin, and got a book signed by Tim Reid. I went to a graphic novel breakfast that featured Jeff Smith, Mike Mignola, Art Spiegelman and Jeph Loeb. I continued my BEA tradition of talking to my mailing list buddy, Jim Salicrup. I can't remember all the goodies I picked up and the box hasn't arrived yet so I'll have to mention those later.

All in all, it was an okay time. LA is my least favorite BEA place because the trip is so long and the authors tend to be more the celebrity type than ones I wanna meet. Next year, it's back to New York, which at least seems to give me better stories to tell. :)

Back from Hollywood

Got back from Book Expo America in Los Angeles last night and I'm still tired. Book Expo is a huge trade show for book sellers, publishers, and librarians. It lasted three days, plus there was a day of seminars I attended.

No really cool stories to tell this year but I'll post a few tidbits over the next couple days.

The Best Show You Aren't Watching Is...

Canadian! That's right, our brethren to the North have been producing one of the more entertaining sit-coms lately. It's CORNER GAS and it's basically about life in a small town in Saskatchewan. The humor is dry, quirky, and a little goofy - so it's right up my alley. :)

Sure, some of the jokes and cameos might be funnier if you're more familiar with things Canadian, but it's still good stuff. It airs in the US on Superstation WGN and you should check it out.

Comic of the Week (well, last week)

Why? Two words - Marcos Martin.

Hey Ho, Let's Go!

I watched END OF THE CENTURY: THE STORY OF THE RAMONES over the weekend. If you have an interest in music, then it's most likely worth watching. If you're a fan of the Ramones (like me!), then it's a must see!

The documentary covers the history of the Ramones from the beginning to their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. While I knew some basic stuff about the band, the movie tells just about everything, warts and all. Plus lots in insight on the band's influence on music since, if you weren't already aware of it.

You know, there's an informercial for soft rock of the '70's playing on tv as I write this and it just makes me even more grateful for the Ramones and the birth of punk rock. :)

Thanks Joey, Johnny, Dee Dee, and Tommy.

New Home

Welcome to the new home of my blog. Hopefully it'll work a little better and I'll actually update it a little more.

Enjoy!