Like the song says, “You’re not alone on Christmas if you’re alone with a friend in the dark,”* so after a delicious traditional Christmas dinner at Congee Village in Chinatown, A White Bear and I headed over to our local multiplex for the 9 o’clock showing of Avatar. My capsule review: surprisingly beautiful, stressful for […]
Archive for the ‘Movies’ category
Watching Rambo for the Holidays, Thinking of Home
I confess. I spent a day and a half watching all four Rambo movies back to back. I’m not quite certain what compelled me to start this process, but having started, I ended up sitting through the entire saga of blazing guns, gigantic explosions, over-the-top 80s patriotism, and the ever-ubiquitous bloodsplatter as Rambo does another […]
Tuesday video: Marilyn smokes up
After sitting in an attic for 50-plus years, a short home movie of Marilyn Monroe has surfaced in which the actress is seen sitting on a couch with a couple of friends. The fact that any new clip of Marilyn has appeared is newsworthy, but most of the headlines about it focus on the fact […]
Thanks for the memories
No need to comment. I just wanted to post a small tribute to a fine actor and a really great man. Tell your friends and family you love them today.
End of summer reviews
A few of the diversions I’ve enjoyed this summer: Books: The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner’s Semester at America’s Holiest University, by Kevin Roose. A 19-year-old sophomore at Brown University decides to spend a semester studying at Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. Among other things, he gets in the habit of praying multiple times […]
The Monday Photo (“we have it? yeah, we have it.”)
The struggle for self-determination, the struggle for what a character wants his life to be…I look for characters who feel strongly enough about something not to be concerned with the prevailing odds, but to struggle against those odds. Robert Aldrich
I’d like to spank the Academy, redux
Random thoughts on the Oscars, in the style of a 2006 post. 1. So glad The Curious Case of Bradjamin Pitton flopped! I’m no Pitt-basher, but all his best work in this movie was done by the makeup department. Seriously, his facial expression never changed in the entire 5 hours and 27 minutes of the […]
2008: top-fives
Some of mine… Film: Let the Right One In (Sweden) Synechdoche, New York Tell No One (France) Milk The Dark Knight TV: The Wire The Mighty Boosh (British import: DVD) Gossip Girl The Daily Show The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric Music: Bon Iver: For Emma, Forever Ago Atlas Sound: Let the Blind Lead […]
Trouble and truth in pixie hollow
One of my favorite films last year did not star Mickey Rourke or Sean Penn; there were no vampires or superheroes or ex-presidents; no narcissistic recovering drug addicts or triumphant game show contestants or tortured suburbanites. One of my favorite movies last year was TinkerBell, direct from Disney’s marketing department to DVD. Some adults, especially adults […]
Thursday favorites: Falling apart in Wisconsin
Hi all. I’d like to use the Thursday slot for talking about a movie I like a whole lot. My favorite movie ever? I don’t know — I could probably find other movies I like “as much” or even “more”. But I will say I think this movie is as good, as fully realized, as […]
