Previous      |      Main      |      Next


Continually updated...

ARCHIVES  

Friday, December 19, 2003

Movies this week...

Sorry for the lateness. I think you probably know what big movie is in theaters this week anyway.

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin: So, check it out. I've seen two movies about Charlie Chaplin: Chaplin and The Cat's Meow, which wasn't just about Charlie Chaplin (it was more about William Randolph Hearst than anything), but which featured a fantastic Eddie Izzard as the trampy one. Now, I've seen these two films, yet I've never actually seen a Charlie Chaplin film. I feel like I know all these things about the guy, but have seen none of his work. Have you ever met somebody that has a really cool reputation as an actor/filmmaker/macrame artist, whatever, but while everyone knows them through their work, you only know them because they live next door or because you pet sit for them or something? Isn't that the weirdest thing to hear somebody else say, "You know (insert famous name)?!? Oh my God!" and you only know them as a close-talker or a bad tipper or whaetever. That's how I feel about Chaplin. Except I never met him, he doesn't live next door and as far as I know, he wasn't a bad tipper. But they made a documentary about him. And this is it.

In America: I've stated before my insistence on seeing no more British Isle movies about raisin' a pint or having naked elderly bare ass on a moped before, but this movie, apart from its apparently lack of moto-ass, seems different. For one thing, it doesn't take place in Great Brittain, so there's no chance that they'll pop in for a bit at the pub on Worshestershire Street or that there'll be big smokestacks graying the lives of aspiring pint-sized ballet dancers. Instead, we have an Irish family illegally coming to America in an indeterminate time period (echoes of the '80s, but also modern gadgets) in a film that is purported to tug at the heartstrings, but in a welcome, gentle way, not unlike a heart tugging you may pay good money for at an expensive spa, would that the treatment was offered. It's being hailed for being humanistic without being schmaltzy, and you know I like humanistic non-schmalance.

Mona Lisa Smile: I've come to a truce with my own mind about Julia Roberts. As long as she's willing to come out in Steven Soderbergh movies, I'm not going to begrudge her the occassional Runaway Bride. But this shit? My goodness. Have you seen the trailer? It's like Dead Poets Tweed Skirt Society. Never before have I been less willing to see a Maggie Gyllenhaal movie. And how annoying is it that Julia Roberts keeps talking in interviews about how old she is compared to the other actresses and how she's the mother hen now and no longer the ingenue like these twentysomething actresses. That would be fine, only you get the sense that she's only saying that so that the actresses will be like, "Oh, no, she's just as young and pretty as us!" or "She's not old! She's gorgeous!" or that they'll bow and kiss her little pedicured toes over letting them be in her prestige project. You just want to take her by the teeth and slap her with a roll of film stock.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: So what can I possibly say about this that hasn't already been said? Either you're totally psyched about it or you think it's an enormous and stupid waste of time. Luckily for us former D&D players (excuse me, former AD&D) players), the geek-to-acceptance ratio is high among civilians, proving that even the lamest, most cringe-worthy idea can be made epic by talent and vision. (Coming soon: The Care Bears Trilogy directed by David Fincher. Special extended DVD editions to follow.) I haven't seen this movie yet and I'm actually glad because if I wait till next week, I may have time to watch the first two movies in their extended DVD form. (Two Towers just arrived in the mail the other day, thanks to a gift from two wonderful friends north of the border.) I'm a fan. I'm amazed that these movies can last more than three hours and still feel significantly shorter than an episode of JAG. I love that the movies were made with care and passion, that everyone involved seems to have come out of the experience transformed and proud of their work and that what now seems like a very obvious formula for success (brilliant directing + involving, epic tale + talented cast + state-of-the-art special effects + not letting the special effects get out of hand = box office legend passed down through generations of Hollywood accountants in song) once seemed like a huge, dangerous risk to undertake. Sometimes people take huge risks and they pay off in a big way, making the world tilt ever so slightly in a positive direction toward the sun. We should be thankful for people like that.

DVDs: The afforementioned Rings, as well as the second disc of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force set (the one with the awesome David Cross episode), The Battle of Shaker Heights (which I may see out of grim curiosity) and the long-neglected, long-dust-collecting Frida which escaped its full-body cast and ran away with Whale Rider to have babies instilled with very positive feminist values.




Video games! Lots of video games!

A huge roundup of some of the year's best videogames (some notable ommissions had more to do with that they didn't send us review copies than mere trifling issues of quality) ran in today's paper in a splashy, art-heavy package on the Life & Arts front.

Of course, online, where we have the awesome powers of multimedia, Flash and high-resolution imagery, it looks like... a lot of text. Regardless, hope you enjoy. It took a lot of time putting that story together.




Thursday, December 18, 2003

Mood update: Outlook still gloomy

You know how when you're right in the middle of a feud with someone and you're just completely fucking seething, I mean so pissed that you end up eating at Subway instead of partaking of free potluck food just because you can't stand to look at anyone in the face with your sour, stomach-acid rage, and then all of a sudden, they give you a really lame compliment and you have to smile and be like, "Oh, hey, thanks," especially because your boss is there?

How much does thatsuck?

I'll answer that one for you: A lot. A damn fucking lot.

Cedar trees, shifty compliments, having to work the day after Christmas... remind me again what I'm still doing in Austin?




Late Movies

Movies This Week is going to be a little late. Work has been a huge fucking pain (like 10 needles in each eye pain) and I'm just not feelin' it right now. Hope you guys got to see Lord of the Rings last night. At the rate things are going, I won't make it to the theater to check it out until Christmas day.




Robbin' the cradle

This ran last week, but just made it online: The Jack Nicholson Age Disparity Chart.




Wednesday, December 17, 2003

Queer Eye for Saddam

Apparently, silly minds think alike.




Tuesday, December 16, 2003

This recap was like the picture of Dorian Gray

I think I aged five years writing the second half of my recap of The Reagans. I gotta give props to Deborah, who does the West Wing recaps. I just do not know shit about the White House.




Monday, December 15, 2003

Dissecting SNL

Saturday Night Live is such an easy target to bash that I hate it when people criticize the show without saying exactly why the show is unfunny or inconsistent. It takes away from the difficulty of putting on a live 90-minute show like that every week, and how within all the filler, there've been some pretty great sketches, even in the last few years. I watch it every week, no matter how bad the guest host sounds in hopes that there'll be at least two or three solid skits.

I wrote about SNL in today's XL Blog.

One other cool thing: Supastah comic Michelle Biloon alerted me over Thanksgiving that the new paperback edition of Live from New York has a quote of mine in the blurbs page from when I wrote a review of the book a whlie back. It uses the word "catty," which is pretty bad-ass.




Tune in!

Next week on Bravo, watch a very special Queer Eye for the Straight Guy starring... Saddam Hussein!



Watch as he's shaven, made-over, jhuzhed and primped, and brought back to his newly redesigned spider hole!

Check out this very special episode of Queer Eye! He'll go from dictator to dick-tasty!




 

Previous      |      Main      |      Next

 

 



Buy some new tech gear when you win on casino slot machines and casino poker on a playtech online casino listed at GamblingCity.net. Just check the 888 casino review!

When you need discount theater tickets for great shows like Wicked on Broadway or A Little Night Music tickets you can get them from GoTickets!

 

Web
terribly-happy.com

Check out Omar's tech blog, Digital Savant, updated nearly every day, Mondays-Fridays.


Select a song for musical
nourishment from Omar's Myspace.com profile page:


XML geek? Try Bloggystyle's Atom feed. Don't like Atom? Here, have some Bloggy RSS, ya whiny bastard.


Old Bloggystyle:

04/06/2003 - 04/13/2003
04/13/2003 - 04/20/2003
04/20/2003 - 04/27/2003
04/27/2003 - 05/04/2003
05/04/2003 - 05/11/2003
05/11/2003 - 05/18/2003
05/18/2003 - 05/25/2003
05/25/2003 - 06/01/2003
06/01/2003 - 06/08/2003
06/08/2003 - 06/15/2003
06/15/2003 - 06/22/2003
06/22/2003 - 06/29/2003
06/29/2003 - 07/06/2003
07/06/2003 - 07/13/2003
07/13/2003 - 07/20/2003
07/20/2003 - 07/27/2003
07/27/2003 - 08/03/2003
08/03/2003 - 08/10/2003
08/10/2003 - 08/17/2003
08/17/2003 - 08/24/2003
08/24/2003 - 08/31/2003
08/31/2003 - 09/07/2003
09/07/2003 - 09/14/2003
09/14/2003 - 09/21/2003
09/21/2003 - 09/28/2003
09/28/2003 - 10/05/2003
10/05/2003 - 10/12/2003
10/12/2003 - 10/19/2003
10/19/2003 - 10/26/2003
10/26/2003 - 11/02/2003
11/02/2003 - 11/09/2003
11/09/2003 - 11/16/2003
11/16/2003 - 11/23/2003
11/23/2003 - 11/30/2003
11/30/2003 - 12/07/2003
12/07/2003 - 12/14/2003
12/14/2003 - 12/21/2003
12/21/2003 - 12/28/2003
12/28/2003 - 01/04/2004
01/04/2004 - 01/11/2004
01/11/2004 - 01/18/2004
01/18/2004 - 01/25/2004
01/25/2004 - 02/01/2004
02/01/2004 - 02/08/2004
02/08/2004 - 02/15/2004
02/15/2004 - 02/22/2004
02/22/2004 - 02/29/2004
02/29/2004 - 03/07/2004
03/07/2004 - 03/14/2004
03/14/2004 - 03/21/2004
03/21/2004 - 03/28/2004
03/28/2004 - 04/04/2004
04/04/2004 - 04/11/2004
04/11/2004 - 04/18/2004
04/18/2004 - 04/25/2004
04/25/2004 - 05/02/2004
05/09/2004 - 05/16/2004
05/16/2004 - 05/23/2004
05/23/2004 - 05/30/2004
05/30/2004 - 06/06/2004
06/06/2004 - 06/13/2004
06/13/2004 - 06/20/2004
06/20/2004 - 06/27/2004
06/27/2004 - 07/04/2004
07/04/2004 - 07/11/2004
07/11/2004 - 07/18/2004
07/18/2004 - 07/25/2004
07/25/2004 - 08/01/2004
08/01/2004 - 08/08/2004
08/08/2004 - 08/15/2004
08/15/2004 - 08/22/2004
08/22/2004 - 08/29/2004
08/29/2004 - 09/05/2004
09/05/2004 - 09/12/2004
09/12/2004 - 09/19/2004
09/19/2004 - 09/26/2004
09/26/2004 - 10/03/2004
10/03/2004 - 10/10/2004
10/10/2004 - 10/17/2004
10/17/2004 - 10/24/2004
10/24/2004 - 10/31/2004
10/31/2004 - 11/07/2004
11/07/2004 - 11/14/2004
11/14/2004 - 11/21/2004
11/21/2004 - 11/28/2004
11/28/2004 - 12/05/2004
12/05/2004 - 12/12/2004
12/12/2004 - 12/19/2004
12/19/2004 - 12/26/2004
12/26/2004 - 01/02/2005
01/02/2005 - 01/09/2005
01/09/2005 - 01/16/2005
01/16/2005 - 01/23/2005
01/23/2005 - 01/30/2005
01/30/2005 - 02/06/2005
02/06/2005 - 02/13/2005
02/13/2005 - 02/20/2005
02/20/2005 - 02/27/2005
02/27/2005 - 03/06/2005
03/06/2005 - 03/13/2005
03/13/2005 - 03/20/2005
03/20/2005 - 03/27/2005
03/27/2005 - 04/03/2005
04/03/2005 - 04/10/2005
04/10/2005 - 04/17/2005
04/17/2005 - 04/24/2005
04/24/2005 - 05/01/2005
05/01/2005 - 05/08/2005
05/08/2005 - 05/15/2005
05/15/2005 - 05/22/2005
05/22/2005 - 05/29/2005
05/29/2005 - 06/05/2005
06/05/2005 - 06/12/2005
06/12/2005 - 06/19/2005
06/19/2005 - 06/26/2005
06/26/2005 - 07/03/2005
07/03/2005 - 07/10/2005
07/10/2005 - 07/17/2005
07/17/2005 - 07/24/2005
07/24/2005 - 07/31/2005
07/31/2005 - 08/07/2005
08/07/2005 - 08/14/2005
08/14/2005 - 08/21/2005
08/21/2005 - 08/28/2005
08/28/2005 - 09/04/2005
09/04/2005 - 09/11/2005
09/11/2005 - 09/18/2005
09/18/2005 - 09/25/2005
09/25/2005 - 10/02/2005
10/02/2005 - 10/09/2005
10/09/2005 - 10/16/2005
10/16/2005 - 10/23/2005
10/23/2005 - 10/30/2005
10/30/2005 - 11/06/2005
11/06/2005 - 11/13/2005
11/13/2005 - 11/20/2005
11/20/2005 - 11/27/2005
11/27/2005 - 12/04/2005
12/04/2005 - 12/11/2005
12/11/2005 - 12/18/2005
12/18/2005 - 12/25/2005
12/25/2005 - 01/01/2006
01/08/2006 - 01/15/2006
01/15/2006 - 01/22/2006
01/22/2006 - 01/29/2006
01/29/2006 - 02/05/2006
02/05/2006 - 02/12/2006
02/12/2006 - 02/19/2006
02/19/2006 - 02/26/2006
02/26/2006 - 03/05/2006
03/05/2006 - 03/12/2006
03/12/2006 - 03/19/2006
03/19/2006 - 03/26/2006
03/26/2006 - 04/02/2006
04/02/2006 - 04/09/2006
04/09/2006 - 04/16/2006
04/16/2006 - 04/23/2006
04/23/2006 - 04/30/2006
04/30/2006 - 05/07/2006
05/07/2006 - 05/14/2006
05/14/2006 - 05/21/2006
05/21/2006 - 05/28/2006
05/28/2006 - 06/04/2006
06/04/2006 - 06/11/2006
06/11/2006 - 06/18/2006
06/18/2006 - 06/25/2006
06/25/2006 - 07/02/2006
07/02/2006 - 07/09/2006
07/09/2006 - 07/16/2006
07/16/2006 - 07/23/2006
07/23/2006 - 07/30/2006
07/30/2006 - 08/06/2006
08/06/2006 - 08/13/2006
08/13/2006 - 08/20/2006
08/20/2006 - 08/27/2006
08/27/2006 - 09/03/2006
09/03/2006 - 09/10/2006
09/10/2006 - 09/17/2006
09/17/2006 - 09/24/2006
09/24/2006 - 10/01/2006
10/01/2006 - 10/08/2006
10/08/2006 - 10/15/2006
10/15/2006 - 10/22/2006
10/22/2006 - 10/29/2006
10/29/2006 - 11/05/2006
11/05/2006 - 11/12/2006
11/12/2006 - 11/19/2006
11/19/2006 - 11/26/2006
11/26/2006 - 12/03/2006
12/03/2006 - 12/10/2006
12/10/2006 - 12/17/2006
12/17/2006 - 12/24/2006
12/24/2006 - 12/31/2006
12/31/2006 - 01/07/2007
01/07/2007 - 01/14/2007
01/14/2007 - 01/21/2007
01/21/2007 - 01/28/2007
01/28/2007 - 02/04/2007
02/04/2007 - 02/11/2007
02/11/2007 - 02/18/2007
02/18/2007 - 02/25/2007
02/25/2007 - 03/04/2007
03/04/2007 - 03/11/2007
03/11/2007 - 03/18/2007
03/18/2007 - 03/25/2007
03/25/2007 - 04/01/2007
04/01/2007 - 04/08/2007
04/08/2007 - 04/15/2007
04/15/2007 - 04/22/2007
04/22/2007 - 04/29/2007
04/29/2007 - 05/06/2007
05/06/2007 - 05/13/2007
05/13/2007 - 05/20/2007
05/20/2007 - 05/27/2007
05/27/2007 - 06/03/2007
06/03/2007 - 06/10/2007
06/10/2007 - 06/17/2007
06/17/2007 - 06/24/2007
06/24/2007 - 07/01/2007
07/01/2007 - 07/08/2007
07/08/2007 - 07/15/2007
07/15/2007 - 07/22/2007
07/22/2007 - 07/29/2007
07/29/2007 - 08/05/2007
08/05/2007 - 08/12/2007
08/12/2007 - 08/19/2007
08/19/2007 - 08/26/2007
08/26/2007 - 09/02/2007
09/02/2007 - 09/09/2007
09/09/2007 - 09/16/2007
09/16/2007 - 09/23/2007
09/23/2007 - 09/30/2007
09/30/2007 - 10/07/2007
10/07/2007 - 10/14/2007
10/14/2007 - 10/21/2007
10/21/2007 - 10/28/2007
10/28/2007 - 11/04/2007
11/04/2007 - 11/11/2007
11/11/2007 - 11/18/2007
11/18/2007 - 11/25/2007
11/25/2007 - 12/02/2007
12/02/2007 - 12/09/2007
12/09/2007 - 12/16/2007
12/16/2007 - 12/23/2007
12/23/2007 - 12/30/2007
01/13/2008 - 01/20/2008
01/20/2008 - 01/27/2008
01/27/2008 - 02/03/2008
02/03/2008 - 02/10/2008
02/10/2008 - 02/17/2008
02/17/2008 - 02/24/2008
02/24/2008 - 03/02/2008
03/02/2008 - 03/09/2008
03/09/2008 - 03/16/2008
03/16/2008 - 03/23/2008
03/23/2008 - 03/30/2008
03/30/2008 - 04/06/2008
04/06/2008 - 04/13/2008
04/13/2008 - 04/20/2008
04/20/2008 - 04/27/2008
04/27/2008 - 05/04/2008
05/04/2008 - 05/11/2008
05/11/2008 - 05/18/2008
05/18/2008 - 05/25/2008
06/01/2008 - 06/08/2008
06/08/2008 - 06/15/2008
06/15/2008 - 06/22/2008
06/22/2008 - 06/29/2008
06/29/2008 - 07/06/2008
07/06/2008 - 07/13/2008
07/13/2008 - 07/20/2008
07/20/2008 - 07/27/2008
07/27/2008 - 08/03/2008
08/03/2008 - 08/10/2008
08/10/2008 - 08/17/2008
08/17/2008 - 08/24/2008
08/24/2008 - 08/31/2008
08/31/2008 - 09/07/2008
09/07/2008 - 09/14/2008
09/14/2008 - 09/21/2008
09/21/2008 - 09/28/2008
09/28/2008 - 10/05/2008
10/05/2008 - 10/12/2008
10/12/2008 - 10/19/2008
10/19/2008 - 10/26/2008
10/26/2008 - 11/02/2008
11/02/2008 - 11/09/2008
11/09/2008 - 11/16/2008
11/16/2008 - 11/23/2008
11/23/2008 - 11/30/2008
11/30/2008 - 12/07/2008
12/07/2008 - 12/14/2008
12/14/2008 - 12/21/2008
12/21/2008 - 12/28/2008
12/28/2008 - 01/04/2009
01/04/2009 - 01/11/2009
01/11/2009 - 01/18/2009
01/18/2009 - 01/25/2009
01/25/2009 - 02/01/2009
02/01/2009 - 02/08/2009
02/08/2009 - 02/15/2009
02/15/2009 - 02/22/2009
02/22/2009 - 03/01/2009
03/01/2009 - 03/08/2009
03/08/2009 - 03/15/2009
03/15/2009 - 03/22/2009
03/22/2009 - 03/29/2009
03/29/2009 - 04/05/2009
04/05/2009 - 04/12/2009
04/12/2009 - 04/19/2009
04/19/2009 - 04/26/2009
04/26/2009 - 05/03/2009
05/03/2009 - 05/10/2009
05/10/2009 - 05/17/2009
05/17/2009 - 05/24/2009
05/24/2009 - 05/31/2009
05/31/2009 - 06/07/2009
06/07/2009 - 06/14/2009
06/14/2009 - 06/21/2009
06/21/2009 - 06/28/2009
06/28/2009 - 07/05/2009
07/05/2009 - 07/12/2009
07/12/2009 - 07/19/2009
07/19/2009 - 07/26/2009
07/26/2009 - 08/02/2009
08/02/2009 - 08/09/2009
08/09/2009 - 08/16/2009
08/16/2009 - 08/23/2009
08/23/2009 - 08/30/2009
08/30/2009 - 09/06/2009
09/06/2009 - 09/13/2009
09/13/2009 - 09/20/2009
09/20/2009 - 09/27/2009
09/27/2009 - 10/04/2009
10/04/2009 - 10/11/2009
10/11/2009 - 10/18/2009
10/18/2009 - 10/25/2009
10/25/2009 - 11/01/2009
11/01/2009 - 11/08/2009
11/08/2009 - 11/15/2009
11/15/2009 - 11/22/2009
11/22/2009 - 11/29/2009
11/29/2009 - 12/06/2009
12/06/2009 - 12/13/2009
12/13/2009 - 12/20/2009
12/20/2009 - 12/27/2009
12/27/2009 - 01/03/2010
01/03/2010 - 01/10/2010
01/10/2010 - 01/17/2010
01/17/2010 - 01/24/2010
01/24/2010 - 01/31/2010
02/07/2010 - 02/14/2010
02/14/2010 - 02/21/2010
02/21/2010 - 02/28/2010
02/28/2010 - 03/07/2010
03/07/2010 - 03/14/2010
03/14/2010 - 03/21/2010
03/21/2010 - 03/28/2010
03/28/2010 - 04/04/2010
04/04/2010 - 04/11/2010
04/11/2010 - 04/18/2010
04/18/2010 - 04/25/2010
04/25/2010 - 05/02/2010

 

 

 


The usual stuff:
Copyright 2000-2008 by Omar G.
E-mail if you want to be notified of updates.