October Round-Up - 2010

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas looms. Some other traditions loom as well, such as what is starting to seem like an annual Yule-tide worry over whether or not I'll have a job come the new year. So, instead of looking towards the troublesome future, let's look to the recent past...

Movies Seen: Nine, with none in a theater. Best is a toss-up between "The Secret In Their Eyes" and "Please Give." "Eyes" was really a glorified whodunit drama, with some legal procedural thrown in, but because it's foreign, it seems more important. Worth seeing if only for one incredible (seemingly) long take in a football stadium.

I liken "Please Give" to some of Woody Allen's earlier, funny films. Certainly better Woody Allen than Woody has been doing these days...

The worst was probably the useless documentary "Who Killed Nancy." You will not learn who killed Nancy, you will not get to hear any of the era's original music, and you will not get those 90 minutes of your life back.

Books Read: Five. First up was "Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk" by David Sedaris, which I read in about two hours. It's an odd little book, and probably only worth reading if you are a Sedaris completest.

Next was "Lips Unsealed: A Memoir" by Belinda Carlisle. Yes, the Go-Go. I'm a sucker for celeb bios, what can I say? Before going into the book, I was aware Carlisle was a huge cokehead during the 80s. I was not so aware she was basically a huge cokehead throughout the 90s and 2000s, too. Whoa.

The best book of the month, hands down, was "One Day" by David Nicholls. It's very, very funny, and very, very, romantic, and had me crying my eyes out at times. I think it should be read by everyone. EVERYONE!

At the end of the month I got on a movie criticism kick, reading "Afterglow: A Last Conversation With Pauline Kael" by Francis Davis, which is, as the title suggests, just an extended conversation with Kael, towards the end of her life. I disagree with Kael more than I agree with her, (because seriously, anyone who thinks Brian DePalma is a cinematic genius has to have a screw or two loose), but I still appreciate her, if that makes any sense. She stopped reviewing towards the end of her life, so I think this book is one of the best opportunities to get her opinions on some of the movies she never got to actually review...

Finally, I finished "Scorsese By Ebert," which I had been reading in bits and pieces since I got it as a Christmas present. It made me want to indulge in a Scorsese movie marathon.

Fancy Dinners Out: Two, in the same day! First was lunch at Absinthe, followed by dinner at Izzy's Steaks and Chops. I think to fully appreciate Absinthe I should go for dinner, and get more than a BLT. Izzy's was awesome as usual.

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: One pair: these pumps from Target, but in "red," which isn't actually red, but more like a wine or magenta color. They were tres cheap, and are tres comfy.

In-deee-pen-dent

In case you didn't get the memo, in the form of my weekly "Hey Watch It!" post on the SFGate Culture Blog, here's another reminder: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" is on tonight at 8 P.M. on CBS! No word on whether this version will include some never-before-seen scenes...



But that's not all! Also on tonight is "Dr. Seuss's How the Grinch Stole Christmas!" at 8 P.M. on ABC!

I Haven't Even Finished Eating All of My Halloween Candy!

In case you missed it last night, there's another chance to watch "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving." RIGHT HERE!

It's paired with the slightly less endearing "The Mayflower Voyagers," but just click away when that business gets started. Enjoy!

A Hobo Says 'What?'

[via Warming Glow]

Cry Cry Cry

On "SNL" this week, there was a sketch called "I Didn't Ask For This," which included an epic crying jag from host Jon Hamm. Watch the full bit below.



Of course, it was inspired by a real viral video, taken from the A&E show "Intervention." So in the interest of completion, you can watch it here too!



And auto-tuned!



You're welcome!

September Round-Up - 2010

Halloween and October are coming to an end. So let's go back in time to September, before having to face the impending crush of the holidays was causing panic attacks.

Movies Seen: Twelve, with none in a theater. Most of them were pretty bad. ("The Book of Eli," "Repo Men," and "Clash of the Titans" being some of the worst.) The best was "Me and Orson Wells," a great little movie from director Richard Linklater. The performance by Christian McKay as Orson Welles is amazing, and Zac Efron is surprisingly good. See it!

Books Read: Three. "Imperial Bedrooms" by Bret Easton Ellis, which is a sequel to "Less Than Zero." It's about as bad as "Less Than Zero" was; maybe even a little worse. I guess I just don't go for nihilism and misogyny.

"The Passage" by Justin Cronin was a much better read, and despite its being an end-of-the-world book (well, post-apocalyptic) it was much less depressing than "Bedrooms." If you've got vampire fatigue, don't let the fact that this is about vampires turn you off of it. It's a gripping, epic read, and I can't wait until parts two and three.

Finally, the last book was "The Unnamed" by Joshua Ferris, the story of a guy with an unknown affliction that causes him to, at totally random moments, start to compulsively walk, for miles, and hours, until his body just gives out on him, and he passes out. This can prove very problematic during the winter, not to mention the issues of work and family. But despite the inventive and original plot, I was ultimately kind of bored by it, and kept wondering why the guy and his family didn't just move to a state with mild weather, so as to avoid the risk of frostbite and hypothermia....

Fancy Dinners Out: None!

Live Shows Seen: None!

Shoes Bought: Two pair, these bejeweled ballet flats, and these rubber wellies, both from Target.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 31

It's Halloween!!! Put on those masks and watch this!



Has your skull dissolved into a puddle of bugs and snakes? Excellent! You didn't want to go out trick or treating tonight anyway, right? Now you have the perfect excuse to stay home and watch TV...Although, not having a head might make that a little hard.

Whoops.

Well, for those of you out there who do still have heads, and are looking to spend this Halloween in front of the TV, your choices are plentiful!

One of the best horror movies I've seen in recent years was last year's "House of the Devil," an indie homage to the horror movies of the 1980s. What makes it good, though, is it doesn't get all satirical or tongue in cheek about it. It plays it straight, and as a result really feels like something you might have watched on VHS back in the day. Some have complained that it's all build-up and no pay-off, but for me, the build-up is so good, by the time it ended, I was just happy having gone on the ride. So, set those timers, because it's on in just a few hours at 4 A.M. on MTV!



Per usual, Turner Classic Movies is going all out, all day. You can see the entire schedule here, but the night is capped with three haunted house flicks, starting at 5 P.M. with the original "House on Haunted Hill."



The absolutely brilliant "The Haunting" follows at 6:30 P.M., and "Poltergeist" caps the night at 8:30 P.M.

Finally, there's the premiere of the new series "The Walking Dead" at 10 P.M. on AMC. I think the zombie thing is almost as played out as vampires (where's the resurgence of "Frankenstein"-inspired movies already??), but the series does play into my love of post-apocalyptic stories, and is being headed by directed Frank Darabont, who at least has some talent for literary horror adaptations. I'll be watching, but for how long, who knows...

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 30

It's the night before Halloween, and once again I turn to Elvira to provide Saturday's countdown pick. Tonight's episode features the 1947 Bela Lugosi picture "Scared to Death," the only color film Lugosi ever made. It's also only about an hour long, which will either mean more bits from Elvira to fill out the show's two hour running time, or more commercials. Here's hoping for the former...1 A.M. on KOFY TV 20, cable channel thirteen.

Cat Scare

Please be patient while your clip gets past all the bullshit and actually plays. It's worth it.

Musty TV's Maniacal Movie Countdown - Day 29

I know "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" is the perfect Halloween special because, duh, it's about Halloween. But it's also the perfect Halloween special because it centers on the creepy delusions of someone who is obviously INSANE. Charlie Brown, what are you doing letting your little sister Sally hang out with that lunatic? 8 P.M. on ABC.