Anxiously awaiting November...

but not for the reasons you might think. Sure, all of the political crap will be over and we won't have to hear about how terrible Palin is or how inadequate Obama is. We'll have discovered our fate shortly after the first of the month, so we can enjoy the rest of it. What I'm referring to is the release of the new Madagascar movie! I just can't wait to see it. The truly funny thing is that my daughter, who will turn five in November, tells me that she doesn't want to see the movie. Hilarious. She would rather listen to my Lisa Scottoline audiobooks in the car while we're driving to daycare. Could it be that something is wrong with this picture?

It's been a stressful year for everyone. November will be great for lots of reasons. Aside from the election, it will bring the start of the holiday season. It's my favorite time of year. I get to have a birthday party on the 9th for my daughter and then plan for vacation around Thanksgiving, and then start shopping for Christmas. Obama and Palin will be the furthest things from my mind at that point.

We get so caught up in the politics, the economy and all of the crap, that sometimes it seems like there will never be any more fun. November is a time when I can get centered again and remember how much I enjoy seeing my daughter's face light up when she opens her birthday gifts and hearing her rattle off an endless list of things she wants for Christmas. I get to spend more time with family and see people I might not have seen in a while. They tend to come out of the woodwork during the holidays. And then there are the parties. It's just such a happy, festive time.

What are you looking forward to? When it's all said and done, what part of the year makes you the happiest?

Until next time...


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The dangers of boredom...

I'm sitting here thinking about what I will be writing later when I start working on more of Keeping the Faith. As usual, I am sorting through the stupid thoughts that enter my mind and trying to put the good ones aside so that I can assemble them later, when I have the time to do so. Blogging is a great way for me to do this. Not to say that you're only getting the chaff, mind you, but what I write here is mostly made up of the things that simply wouldn't make sense if it were added to my books.



For example, why is that I can never remember whether or not I'm looking at Dermot Mulroney or Dylan McDermott when I see one of them in a movie. I know who they are, I know what kinds of roles they generally play, but for the life of me, I can't look at one of them without saying is that Dermot or McDermott? It plagues me so.

Another thing that happens frequently is that I can never remember if the movie that I'm watching is Three to Tango or Fools Rush In. I do realize that these two movies are in no way similar, but still, I can never quite discern which of the two I am watching until I've watched at least twenty minutes or so of the movie. I love Matthew Perry, ever since he was on Growing Pains, but for some reason, he seems like the same he's playing the same role in these two movies. It's ok, though. It really doesn't bother me other than making me ask myself the same question every time I'm watching one of these movies.

I also hate the fact that I can never remember Campbell Scott's name when I'm watching him in a movie, but as soon as I'm not watching the movie, his name pops into my head. I was watching Music & Lyrics the other day and for the life of me, I couldn't recall who he was until after the movie was over.

This is all quite trivial, but these are the stupid little things that bug me when I'm just doing my day-to-day stuff. And yes, I realize that it looks suspiciously like my days consist only of watching movies and writing. I assure you that I do much more than that. Well, maybe much is a strong word, how about a little more. Yes, I do a little more than that.

;)

Until next time...


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If I Could Turn Back Time...

I wouldn't have watched several of the movies I've watched over the past few months. It is so disappointing to wait through all of the build-up and finally sit down to watch a movie that simply doesn't measure up to the hype. I feel it is my civic duty to take some time to warn you about a few movies...and to complain, in general about the ones we have to choose from.

For starters, there's Juno. I couldn't even bring myself to watch this one because of its cutesy little trailers which I thought, glorified teen pregnancy. Why make a comedy about a pregnant, teenage girl? This movie seems to be making light of a very serious situation. This fact and the irreverant use of the word "shenanigans" were enough to make me boycott the film. Stupid...yes.

Next, there was Good Luck, Chuck. Well, what can I say about this movie except that if I had been in the market to spend a half an hour looking at nothing but Dane Cook's ass, I would have been thrilled. Sadly, the funniest parts of the movie were those which were included in the trailers. If they had tried to assemble a film from just those clips, it might have been fine, but they took it too far and as a result, it was a big disappointment.

The third disappointment I encountered was "Knocked Up." I'm not even sure why this was supposed to be funny, but let's just say that it missed the mark. Once again, irresponsible behavior made into a neat little film that lasts about a half an hour too long. This entire movie was only slightly more entertaining than a Cher video.

How about my fourth pick, Superbad? This one was not only not funny, it was disturbing. Young people, high school age, I guess, talking incessantly about having some sort of sexual encounter. And they weren't using a mild-mannered "Sixteen Candles" sort of dialogue, but in the most raunchy, disgusting language they could possibly use. I was embarrassed to even be watching this one and I'm not easily embarrassed.

I'm not sure what has happened to the film industry over the last five years or so, but whatever it is, I don't like it. Every once in a while, there's a good one, but more often than not it's a real crap shoot. Lest you think I have absolutely nothing good to say, I want to share with you my list of movies that I think everyone should watch at least once. You'll see, I really do have a sense of humor and I'm not just some old prude who likes to give young filmmakers a hard time.

My List...the top 15

Airplane!
Undercover Brother
Ace Ventura, Pet Detective
Caddyshack
Spaceballs
Austin Powers, International Man of Mystery
The Jerk
There's Something About Mary
The Nutty Professor (Eddie Murphy)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles
Top Secret!
The Three Amigos!
Dodgeball
Friday
Talledega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby

If you haven't seen these, I recommend you check them out when you have some time. They are worth your time. The others, not so much.

Until next time...



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