Cinematic Sunday One Hundred Twenty Nine

You know what's up.

First up we have the teaser for a short film called Frame 137, which is directed by Judd Tilyard and based on the work of The Crow creator James O'Barr. I vaguely recall the story (the title is familiar at the very least), and the action looks like a lot of fun. The film introduces Sam Ransom as the lead and from what I've read the 10 year old kid actually did a lot of his own action bits, which is rather impressive. Give this a look and then become a fan over on Facebook, this definitely looks like something worth tracking down.



Next we find a new (final?) trailer for the re-make of A Nightmare On Elm Street, which is directed by Samuel Bayer and stars Jackie Earle Haley as the re-imagined Freddy Krueger. The trailer looks to give several nods to the original film's set pieces, but also sports some spiffy visuals that give it more of its own identity, so I'm still willing to give this one the benefit of doubt, despite my normal knee-jerk disinterest in the idea of re-makes just for the cash-grab. This will be out in April, so stock up on your caffeine products now.



Finally we have the trailer (unfortunately sans subtitles) for Turkish horror film SES(The Voice). It's from director Ümit Ünal and the plot involves Selma Ergeç, a normal everyday woman working in a bank call center who begins to be plagued by a voice in her head that at first simply tells her things she wouldn't otherwise know about those around her, but it soon takes a sinister turn. I obviously know little about the film, what with the language barrier and all, but the editing of the trailer and the foreboding use of music is very intriguing to me, so I'll be keeping an eye out for this one.



Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Movies, Trailers, Frame 137, Judd Tilyard, The Crow, James O'Barr, Sam Ransom, A Nightmare On Elm Street, Re-Make, Samuel Bayer, Jackie Earle Haley, Freddy Krueger, SES, The Voice, Ümit Ünal, Selma Ergeç

A Day Late And A Blog Short

Yeah, so this is being written a full day after the fact, but what can I say, it's been a long, liquor-filled week.

Let me take you back to the halcyon days of yesteryear, or at least this past Saturday.

I was woken at the crack of dawn by the tell tale voices from the next room indicating that our guests had woken up and were visiting in the kitchen. These people and their fucking careers, it evidently drives them to rise early even when on vacation! I got up with about 5 hours sleep to my credit, stumbled into the kitchen to see what was going on.

Thus began the long day, which would eventually take us across town for lunch at a Mexican food place before the wife and S From Memphis were scheduled to be somewhere for a pedicure. On the way to the way to the restaurant Morris got word that a friend's aunt was being buried in the afternoon, so he headed out to make an appearance at the service.

This left Brown and I milling around the house for a bit, then I drove him over to a park where his niece was playing in a softball tournament. as he felt sort of obligated to make an appearance since he was in town. This plan quickly fell apart as we got to a gate where a sign informed us that we'd be paying $10 apiece to get in the gate to check out the two innings that Brown was thinking of staying for.

We instead headed back to the house to chill out and wait for the rest of our party to trickle in. Anastasia Beaverhouszen and her hubby Kno1 arrived soon after, and once we'd all reconvened we visited for a good long time, though I admit to drifting in and out because I was simply so fucking tired. I elected to avoid a nap, as I felt kinda obligated to be around to look after our guests. The wife caught a short nap, and after I started getting cleaned up for the evening's festivities I woke her so that she could do the same.

We headed out to the club for the Mother In Law and her new Beau's wedding reception, which was held at a club downtown. We piled into a couple cars and headed that way shortly after 7:00. The party was in full swing as we arrived so we got our picture taken in several different groups & configurations in honor of the occasion, then headed upstairs to see what sort of trouble we could get into.

The party was a lot of fun, we mingled and said our hellos to as many folks as we could make our way around the crowded room to find, I enjoyed a few more cocktails along the way, then the wife and I eventually grabbed a plate of food and found a seat with the MIL and her Beau, meeting a few members of his family along the way as the band started playing. Everyone enjoyed the band's set, then there were a few toasts made before they launched back into things.

We came perilously close to being the last ones out, but headed out shortly before we shut the party down for good, inviting a few folks back to the house for more drinks and to chill out. I was in the Library visiting with a couple that we hadn't seen in some time when we heard the doorbell ring, which I took to be a late arrival to our little after-party. About 29 minutes later we found out it was another late night pizza delivery, which we'd eventually snack on once we re-joined the party in the kitchen area, where all gatherings seem to end up.

Once we finally started winding things down I headed to the web briefly, but quickly reconsidered, as I was fairly exhausted and full of whiskey, electing to work on this post when I had a clearer head and more time to concentrate, which would turn out to be Sunday afternoon.

I'm out kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Frustration, Lack Of Sleep, Lunch, Errands, Wedding Reception, Party, Friends

The Old Meet & Greet

The wife had a few errands and other engagements with her friend S From Memphis this afternoon, so they split fairly early to do their luncheon thing and then some running around.

I got a random call from a friend about lunch and was about to start getting ready to meet her for lunch when the Older Sister dropped by to check out the newly rearranged front rooms. I gave her the quick tour, then she split, I dressed and ran out the door too met my friend.

Lunch was good, we visited a good long while, eventually surrendering the table because it was the lunch hour and we didn't want to be those people.

I spent my afternoon with the first disc of the 3rd season of Battlestar Galactica, a show that continues to impress the hell out of me as far as visual style and plotting goes. The show manages to bring very real world situations to the forefront of what is ostensibly a sci-fi show, deftly mixing religious ideology and morality into a fictional tale that could easily be taken as a simple space opera. Great stuff, I'm very happy to finally be giving this a look, it's well worth the wait and would stand up to numerous re-watches.

The wife and SFM got back int he late afternoon, shortly before Morris and Brown arrived from Dallas, so we visited for a bit at the house, then got dressed and headed over to the Mother In Law's house for the little party she was throwing. As I understood it, the party was meant to be for the new Beau's friends and relatives arriving from out of town, though today was actually Grandmother's birthday and she had it in her head that the little soiree was in honor of that. I don't think anyone went out of their way to disabuse Grandmother of this misconception, and it truth the party was primarily attended by the MIL's family, so this worked out well enough. Folks brought their gifts and there was a cake, so it played out as you'd expect a birthday party would so no harm, no foul.

We had a few cocktails at the house and then headed out to see what was up at the MIL's place around 5:30 or thereabouts.

The party was fun, though primarily made up of the MIL's side of things, so once we'd met the Beau's former business partner and his wife there was little difference to this gathering and most others, save for the fully flowing open bar. I teased my buzz along and tried to console (if that's the right word) the Older Sister a bit, who still seems to be having issues (though largely unspoken) about her mother's newfound freedom with the booze. I mean, since things don't appear to be to excess (to my knowledge, anyway), and for fuck's sake, the woman's in what has to be her twilight years, why can't she have a drink if it interests her? I obviously don't have the same perspective on it as the Older Sister, but the bottom line is what can really be done? I will say that there's the part of me that wants to somehow be able to change how she feels about things, but it's nothing that will change, so it's hard to get that worked up about either. I'm just glad that the wife is in a good place about it, as her frustration with it would obviously bug me a good deal more.

Brown mentioned that (like me) he was a little hot indoors, so we stepped outside with Morris for a bit to cool off. I have to (shamefacedly) admit that I managed to shift one of the lawn chairs far enough back from the table that when I sat down in it I tumbled back into a flowerbed full of ivy, as one of the legs was (unbeknownst to me) hanging over the edge of the bed. I recovered quickly, but what a stupid-ass tumble to take; thankfully it wasn't in full view of the group indoors.

The Uncle had a female acquaintance scheduled to arrive at the airport this evening, so he was gone for some time to pick her up, during which time the party thinned substantially. They finally got back and the lady in question held the floor for quite some time, recounting her adventures with the Uncle, most of which didn't exactly paint all that favorable of an image of either one of them, to be perfectly honest. These tales included someone possibly paying for sex and someone setting off the fire alarm in a hotel, then the two of them split for the better part of a half hour, touring the MIL's home, which was kinda odd, but whatever. I'll be curious to see this broad in a more social setting tomorrow night, see how that plays out.

We headed home and chilled out, visiting a bit more and finally ordering a pizza to sate the late night snacking bug that hit us. We all headed to bed much later than we normally would, but I fully plan on sleeping in tomorrow.

I'm out kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Friends, Lunch, Television, Battlestar Galactica, Family Gathering, Possible Drama, Alcohol

Decorating, Drinking And Battlestarring

Starting this much later than the alleged publication date, I can assure you.

The wife had an early morning meeting, so I was left to deal with the continuing Interior Decorator shite that was still happening. The guy arrived to add a fabric swag around the chandelier in the formal dining area, so I retreated with the Yorkie to the office area to piddle around on the computer and try to keep the dog relaxed. The dog relaxing thing never quite happened.

The wife eventually checked in between meetings on her way to pick up her girlfriend S From Memphis (SFM), then headed out to the airport. They returned shortly, though we were still hanging around waiting for at least another hour or so for the guy to be finished with the fabric project. The Interior Decorator came and went during this time, arranging the den to suit him, per the wife's request. I was okay with the results, as my couch position wasn't changed, but the overall shifting feels like it's shifting simply for that sake of it, but whatever, as long as I can still see the television, it's no skin off my ass.

I drove the ladies to lunch, we had a nice meal, then I took them back home, where the wife had scheduled massages for both of them. While they waited on the masseuse to arrive, I ran a few errands: dropped a few things in the mail and picked up some lower wattage bulbs for the new lamps in the formal living area, then spent some time putting that stuff on timers and seeing if the warm glow it afforded was what I had envisioned in my head. The ladies had meanwhile started getting ready for their evening out at a charity fund-raiser function thing that the wife is a part of, freeing me up to do absolutely nothing this evening.

I made myself a sandwich for my dinner and then watched the 4th disc of Battlestar Galactica while enjoying a few cocktails. The women came home, we visited for a time, then I decided to dive into the last disc of the season, which put me finishing season 2 at 3 or so in the AM, so now I'm pecking away at this, sobering up and a little bleary-eyed. Tomorrow morning is gonna come awful early.

I'm out kids.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Interior Decorator, Yorkie, Annoyance, Friends, Lunch, Errands, Television, Battlestar Galactica, Blu-ray

Decorating And Daddy!

We had the Interior Decorator and his little helpers in this morning to spruce up the formal living and dining areas, as the wife wanted them a bit more pulled together for the company we'll have this weekend. This project took a couple hours as they brought in a handful of items, but also selected amongst our tchotchke on display to whip the room into shape. The result is pretty amazing, but also involves a rug on the floor, which alarms me, as I prefer our hardwood and there's always the danger of the Yorkie deciding that she's gonna take a piss on it; a problem in the past. I'm pretty sure we made it through the afternoon and evening clean, but who knows if that'll last? I'm crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

I took some time in the middle of this to go and drop off our recycling so it doesn't get out of hand over the weekend, then the wife and I spent some time in the early afternoon getting a giftbasket together for a charity auction this weekend. This was basically killing time until her pal Scrawny McTall could come by and check out the newly finished room. Scrawny was late because she got caught up trying to plan a coming trip out of town, so by the time she came dragging by, it was pushing toward 3:00 in the afternoon, so once we visited with her and got her back on her way, we'd blown most of the day on two small projects.

We did the grocery shopping for the weekend, which ate another 2 hours, then finally headed home around 5:00, picking up some Thai on the way, as the wife knew I usually indulge once a week and the rest of our weekend meals are probably be spoken for.

We unloaded groceries and put them away, then watched The Stepfather, a film I'd never seen before, but we joked would be timely since the Mother In Law just re-married, and funnily enough the character played by Lost's Terry O'Quinn on this film shares the same first name as the MIL's new Beau. I frantically grabbed the wife's arm in mock horror, "Holy shit! I'ma buy your sisters a copy of this movie for Christmas!" The flick was really fun, though the killer's logic of relocating to another town within a day's travel from his original murder site is a little silly, but I guess you gotta find some kind of convenience to wrap this thing up, right?

We called it a night around 10:00, as the wife has to be up early and we have more stuff happening at the house, as well as her friend from Memphis arriving just shy of noon.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Interior Decorator, Yorkie, Furniture, Errands, Shopping, Groceries, Movies, The Stepfather, Terry OQuinn

What's The Point? Part 26

Yeah, I'm still feeling amazingly unmotivated to do anything this week, so this blog is probably gonna end up like a ghost town eventually, as the few hits I get that aren't weird Google Searches or image-related stuff will dry up really quickly.

We got a good amount of snow dumped on us last night, so the city basically shut down because this is Texas and we have no idea how to deal with weather that isn't just out to dehydrate and kill us, so anything involving cold or water really fucks up our lives.

I had a teeth cleaning scheduled, so I was up at a reasonable time to get showered and dressed to go do that, as by noon the streets were pretty much 100% clear save for the grimy run-off water.

Our dentist office blows, if only because they don't seem to really give two fucks about when they get you in, so a person like me (who generally shows up about 5 minutes in advance of his appointment) could easily end up cooling his heels for at about 15 minutes before you're actually get seated, and it's simply maddening. They actually had a cancellation while I was there (presumably someone was too put off by the snow to leave their house) and my wife of all people ended up being the next person on their list of standbys, so we might as well have taken a single vehicle, because she was there before I was leaving.

Oh, and they also found what they think might turn into a cavity, so now I have to go dick with that on Tuesday of next week. I swear to God, I had no dental problems for like 15 years without ever seeing a dentist, I start seeing one regularly, they address a few small cavities, then within 2 years, I suddenly have another one? I feel like we're buying the doorknobs on this asshole's new boat or something. Bah.

The wife had numerous errands and stuff to run this afternoon, I picked up a couple of burritos for my lunch and then chilled at the house, re-watching Inglourious Basterds on Blu-ray, a film that pretty much ate up the afternoon, as it's not a short film by any means.

The wife and I caught up in the evening once she got home from her running around, then we settled in for the new episode of Lost and Sunday's Desperate Housewives, a show that I will ride down 'til the bitter end. I have to say that the addition of Dexter's Julie Benz as a reformed stripper in recent episodes has been a major bright spot, as she's pretty easy on the eyes.

I'm out kids, we have some kind of nonsense going on in the morning with the Interior Decorator.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Shitty Weather, Dentist, Frustration, Movies, Inglourious Basterds, Blu-ray, Television, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Julie Benz, Dexter

Why Do Anything Today When Everything Can Be Put Off Indefinitely?

This morning the wife had to drop her car off at the body shop to repair some cosmetic damage done by a car wash, because why wouldn't the simple spray and wash nearly rip some of the trim off, right? We headed out to drop the car off, then pick up a spare vehicle from the Mother In Law's house on the way back, only to find that the MIL's handyman was gone in the Jeep we'd come to borrow. We ended up having lunch instead, picking up the vehicle afterward.

The wife ran some errands while I headed back to the house to do some odds and ends chores, including some laundry and cleaning up the dying remnants of Valentine's flowers in the den and kitchen areas. I meant to get started in on some of the review material I need to watch (which finally arrived over the weekend after about a month and a half drought), but instead I didn't feel like committing to any of it and started something off the TiVo that I'd been curious about for awhile now.

Rock Star stars Mark Wahlberg as a singer in a tribute band for a hair metal group in the 80's and he's hand-picked to be their new singer when the old one departs. I believe the story is influenced by the Judas Priest situation at least slightly, wherein Rob Halford was replaced by a tribute singer when he left the band, but the film was only so-so for me. It's watchable, but ultimately some things happen, then the film ends, there's now real climax or anything of that sort, life just goes on, which I suppose is the case, but you expect more when considering cinematic entertainment.

The wife got home near the end of that, we caught up a bit, then watched Metropolitan off the old Netfux Instant Watch, which was pretty fun, it really reminded me of the measured dialog delivered in a lot of European cinema, or even in older American film, where one has to pay really close attention to everything being said to follow the plot or get the jokes. Whit Stillman is a great writer and I want to re-watch his other two films again, as he's obviously not interested in cranking anything else out any time soon. I also shamefacedly admit to mistakenly thinking that he had some connection (other than similar material) to both Noah Baumbach and Wes Anderson; though I'd convinced myself that he'd written for one or both of them, he has done no such thing.

The wife had an evening meeting, so the Yorkie and I chilled out for the evening and I fooled around with more Netfux Instant Watch stuff, caught up with the wife when she got home, then we called it a night after 10:00 or thereabouts once we wrapped up a viewing of a Jeff Garlin comedy special.

I pretty much wasted the entire day, aside from a few morning errands, I really need to get my shit together this week.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Errands, Household Chores, Movies, TiVo, Rock Star, Mark Wahlberg, Judas Priest, Rob Halford, Netflix Instant Watch, Metropolitan, Whit Stillman, Noah Baumbach,Wes Anderson, Comedy, Jeff Garlin

Cinematic Sunday One Hundred Twenty Eight

Yeah, why not do that again, right?

First up we have a film based on the novels of Stieg Larsson, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, which is directed by Niels Arden Oplev and stars Noomi Rapace as a computer hacker who helps a journalist played by Michael Nyqvist look into a decades old disappearance on a completely isolated island, where a disaster destroyed the only bridge to the mainland many years ago. The trailer has me intrigued and I've heard good things about this one.



Next we have Suicide Girls Must Die, from director Sawa Suicide (which is obviously her site handle), in which 12 of the girls from the famous alt-erotica site travel to a remote cabin to shoot pics for a calendar. The girls then fall victim to an unknown killer and their constant shooting for video purposes becomes the '1st reality horror movie', the hook being that there's no script, no actors, just the girls thrown into this new dangerous situation. I got nothin' against naked Suicide Girls, so I hope that they have a good eye for horror, as enough of them appear to be genre fans based on the site. This opens in limited release in March.



Finally tonight we have Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, Oliver Stone's sequel to his 1987 film. Michael Douglas reprises his role as Gordon Gecko, freshly released from prison (circa 2008, pre-financial crash) and looking to get back on his feet. He meets Shia LaBeouf, the young man on the verge of marrying his estranged daughter (Carey Mulligan) and begins trying to help the young man seek revenge against a man (Josh Brolin) that he holds responsible for the death of his mentor. I would definitely like to give the original film another look before checking this one out, as I recall very little about it, but the trailer is intriguing.



Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Movies, Trailers, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson, Niels Arden Oplev, Noomi Rapace, Michael Nyqvist, Suicide Girls Must Die, Sawa Suicide, Suicide Girls, Wall Street Money Never Sleeps, Oliver Stone, Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Carey Mulligan, Josh Brolin

More Half Assery

The day today was spent watching a full season of The Life And Times Of Tim, a show which recently began its second season on HBO. The show had me weeping with laughter at one point, as the lead was drawn into a ridiculous boxing match with an elderly man who got pissed off that he was offered the younger man's seat on the bus.

I got out briefly to pick up lunch, but, that aside, I didn't leave the couch to speak of, and the wife and I spent our evening with more televised nonsense, including an animated version of The Ricky Gervais Show podcast, which is now running on HBO as well. It was pretty funny, though I think the wife may balk slightly at the humor, as it is radio style recordings of rather British humor, which may be a bit much for her.

I rounded out my day with the last three episodes of the Showtime show Spartacus: Blood And Sand, which is an interesting watch and has kept my interest. It also makes me feel like a fat tosser while watching it, as everyone is cut like they live in a gym, but what can you do? I don't necessarily want to live on brown rice, fish and a exercise regimen.

We called it a night around midnight, because the Spartacus eps ran late.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Television, DVD, The Life And Times Of Tim, HBO, The Ricky Gervais Show, Podcasts, Showtime, Spartacus Blood And Sand

Now With Less Enthusiasm...

Yeah, so I was out of here early last night, read for a bit in bed, then went to sleep about an hour earlier than usual. The wife and I both got up with the alarm this morning, she headed to the Office to work on a few things, so I decided to chill in the den and watch something off the old Netfux Instant Watch.

I sat through (and even took notes for a review of) a Thai movie called Demon Warriors, but I don't know if I have the strength to jack with writing the review out, as the film wasn't exactly terrible, but it was just kinda repetitive and boring after awhile. The idea is that demons exist among us, and a cop becomes one to combat them, but the majority of the film is about a group of humans attacking them again & again in these deserted buildings, it's just a bit much once you realize that it's basically the same scene yet again.

The wife made plans to have lunch with Brian, who had plans this evening rather than dinner with us, so I let her do that one solo and picked up a burger for my own lunch.

Back at the house I continued my Netfux Instant Watch time-sink and started the second episode of a short lived program called Harper's Island. It's 13 episodes of a wedding party on a remote island where someone has begun killing the guests, in accordance with the legend of a madman who ran amuck 7 years in the past. It's an okay watch, but towards the end of things they were definitely stretching things out a bit. For example, there's a scene where the killer is wielding a machete-like weapon in a large open room and four people escape out a back door with a loaded rifle, leaving a guy with a buck knife to fend off their attacker, hopelessly outmatched. The show could've ended 3 episodes early had they simply fired a single shot, it was just a little silly, especially once I noticed it, it started making me look for other conveniences as well.

Anyway, long story short, that show ate my day, as I basically marathoned through it because I wasn't feeling motivated to really do anything else, and this was something I could focus on or not, depending on my level of interest. The veritable definition of an 'amiable timewaster'.

We called it around 10:00, as we do. I really hope this funk passes soon, as I don't feel like doing anything lately, and the wife's also been a bit down due to some oddball family drama of late, it's just felt a bit like one thing after the other these past few weeks.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Netflix Instant Watch, Movies, Demon Warriors, Lunch, Television, Harpers Island, Depression

What's The Point?

I don't know what's up with me the past few weeks, but with a few high points aside, I've been in a fairly shitty mood when left to my own devices. I'm not sure what the deal is with this, if it relates to a friend's death and thoughts drifting to the pointless nature of my own time here, but I definitely seem to gravitate back to this dour mood if given a lot of time to brood on it, which is driving me crazy. This isn't my natural state anymore, and these thoughts are really frustrating in that they won't simply fade into the background as I'd like them to.

I'm sure it'll pass, but it's just become a source of frustration these past few weeks, especially when I'm trying to focus on happier stuff.

The wife had meetings this morning and early afternoon, so we crossed paths briefly before she split for that, then I headed to the Office to sip my coffee and see what was happening on the interwebs. There was, as has been the recent trend, not a lot happening, so I eventually made myself a sandwich for lunch and was going through the mail and eating when the wife got in. We caught up a bit on some impending family drama, hinting that we are indeed living in a soap opera, but blithely unaware of it at this point in time. We visited about this and that, then ended up watching a movie that I was thinking of checking out before one of my podcasts did a review of it.

A Policewoman In New York stars the divine Edwige Fenech as the title character, an Italian policewoman sent undercover in New York to impersonate a gangster's girlfriend and gather information. I'd only seen one other film in the Italian sex-comedy genre (Ubalda, All Naked And Warm), and this film proved to be more of the same as far as the broad humor and slapstick goes, with slightly less sex thrown around, but it still managed to be entertaining. The casual racism peppered throughout was a little surprising, as there's a black maid named Mammy for Christ's sake, which I kinda thought was being frowned upon by the late 60's at the latest, let alone in NYC in the early 80's. The flick was a fun watch, I'd check it out again for some mindless fun.

We had dinner with a girlfriend of the wife's, whose having family drama of her own, so I'll kinda vague it up here, as it's not my place to even allude to other people's private shit, regardless of how few readers I have here. I will say that the things we discussed at dinner did nothing to take my mind off the stuff I've been dwelling on in recent weeks, specifically the inherently transitive nature of everything in life that's making it hard to be happy about any-fucking-thing lately.

We headed back to the house, watched a little something from Netfux called 9, the Shane Acker film in which little rag dolls are left to save the world in a post apocalyptic landscape. It's a really well animated film and fairly short, so we breezed through that before wrapping up our night by watching the final episode from the first season of Archer off of the TiVo, which was pretty hilarious, I have to admit. The show manages to get into some truly ridiculous places, and it always cracks me up, I really hope it gets another season, it really deserves it.

I'm out kids, because I really don't feel like doing this right now.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Depression, Frustration, Movies, A Policewoman In New York, Edwige Fenech, Ubalda All Naked And Warm, Dinner, Netflix, 9, Shane Acker, TiVo, Archer

"It's Okay To Touch It If You're Curious..."

The wife and I finally managed to get into that argument that we'd been dancing around for a few days, which lasted an hour or so of hurt feelings before we eventually got things talked out and back on course, so things are cool now, but it was really tedious going there for a bit. We tend towards one argument a year or thereabouts, or at least one large one that actually registers as an argument rather than a simple misunderstanding or what have you, so I'm hoping that we got it over with early for this calendar year.

That smoothed over, I ran a few errands in the afternoon, including a stop by Big Lots, who just so happened to have a few new things, so I ended up spending a few bucks there on three movies, including In The Company Of Men, which made me very happy. I was also alarmed to notice that some of the new shipment of junk was priced a few dollars higher, $5 apiece, including utter shit like Mike Myers in The Love Guru and Eddie Murphy in Norbit, y'know, shit they should pay a customer a few bucks to take home and destroy to get them out of their store. Pass.

The wife ran a few errands of her own, then we ended up back at the house around the same time, tested the waters to be certain that everything was cool between us, then we decided to grab an early dinner and headed back out to find a quiet restaurant. Dinner was good, and we were back home and in our pajamas in front of the tube before you could say Shazam.

We watched a little something off the 'to-watch pile', a little cornball horror gem called Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf, which is possibly the greatest nonsensical title that I've heard this week. This was a re-watch for me, and I think possibly for the wife as well, but we had a great time making fun of the silly thing, as it pretty much ignores anything about the 1st film save for a tiny scrap of plot and moves things to Transylvania, which in addition to being lousy with vampires is apparently also filled with werewolves as well. I'd move, were I a local peasant, it hardly seems worth it to stay if all this shit is bringing down your property values and possibly eating you. There's the amazingly silly bits with Sybil Danning frequently nude for no real reason, sweaty, hairy werewolf sex and lots of fast editing that cuts to shots of things that don't exactly go together, an effect that just confuses more than it scares, especially as often as it's used.

We rounded out our evening with the standard Wednesday night fare: new Human Target and Ghost Hunters International. The GHI show was cracking me up, as one of the guys kept saying amazingly suggestive sounding stuff during an EVP session, it all sounded more and more like the shit a guy in his rape-van would be cooing at children near a playground.

"Come closer, don't be sacred. - Can you talk into this device? - If you want to touch it it's okay, you can touch it if you're curious..." shit like that, it had me nudging the wife and saying that if he says "just the tip" I was gonna shit myself.

We called it a night around 10:00 or thereabouts.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Argument, Errands, Shopping, Movies, DVD, In The Company Of Men, The Love Guru, Mike Myers, Norbit, Eddie Murphy, Howling II Your Sister Is A Werewolf, Television, Human Target, Ghost Hunters International, Amusing, EVP

Classic Film Afternoon

Starting this one sooo late. I hate my routine-driven nature sometimes, as I'd much rather be in bed right now instead of hunting and pecking away at this stupid stuff.

On the upside, hopefully this will be short, as not a lot went on. But then again, I do tend to ramble on...

The wife continues to fight with allergies/drainage, or what could now be edging into the neighborhood of actual sickness, so she's been sleeping weirdly and feeling generally like shit. Not for nothing, but I really feel like her health has had her on edge the past few days, as we've slated around arguments over weird stuff, things that we'd normally blow off or ignore, so that's been on the frustrating side. I hope she feels better soon, but her habit is to ignore this type of thing for like two weeks before she breaks down and goes to a doctor, so we may have some time to go yet.

The Maid was here this morning, managed to do her thing without breaking anything, though she spent a lot of time on her cellphone, yammering away in Spanish, which is becoming an increasing irritant when I can barely hear what I'm listening to on the computer that I'm sitting in front of. I may have to say something soon, lest I suddenly snap one day and throw a bottle at her to shut her up. I don't even give a shit that she's on the phone, as long as the floor gets mopped, I just don't want to feel like I'm in an open air market in Chihuahua, Mexico while trying to watch television or surf the web.

Once we finally got the Maid out from underfoot I decided to pick up a late lunch, so I did that and watched a little something off the old TiVo while I ate and the wife caught a nap in the bedroom, again in anticipation of an evening meeting that she had to attend.

I'd recorded The Philadelphia Story off TCM the other night, as I was curious to see more Cary Grant after watching His Girl Friday awhile back. I really enjoyed the film, though I have to say that Jimmy Stewart definitely played a second fiddle to Grant as they vied to win over Katherine Hepburn, Grant is just so effortless in his charm it's almost silly to think that there's any other possible outcome. My favorite line was Grant's, as he learned that Stewart's writer character only drank occasionally "A little? And you a writer? Tsk, tsk, tsk. I thought all writers drank to excess and beat their wives. You know, at one time I think I secretly wanted to be a writer. ", cutting his ex-wife Hepburn a look as he said it. Such amazing timing.

About midway through this film I realized that I wanted to see more Cary Grant, so I poked around in the Media Closet, and sure enough, I had an unwatched hand me down copy of North By Northwest, which was obviously not the same style of light fare I was watching, but featured Grant in a more dramatic light, so I popped that in next. It was actually a first time viewing for me, and while I was familiar with certain set-pieces, I'd never committed to the entire film in one sitting before. I really enjoyed it, and I think I'd been just disinterested enough when hearing people talk about it as to not have any plot reveals spoiled over the years, so that was a nice experience to basically watch it 'cold'.

Once that was finished, I decided to throw in something else from the 'to-watch' pile that was in fitting with the classic film era I had been into this afternoon, so I was about halfway through William Powell in My Man Godfrey when the wife got home. The film is the story of Powell as a homeless man who is hired by a ditzy socialite to be the butler for her crazy family, but we soon learn that Godfrey has more going on than they first suspect. The wife finished that with me, which she seemed to enjoy quite a bit. She'd really dug the Thin Man stuff at the beginning of the year, so this was somewhat timely for us. Oh, and BTW, the version I own isn't the ninja-cool Criterion Collection pictured here, it's a cheapie I grabbed for $3, but I'm now definitely thinking I need to upgrade the next time Barnes & Noble does their 50% sale thing.

We wrapped a late evening with the new episode of Lost, which I was desperate to squeeze in, since it's become extraordinarily easy for plot details to get leaked with no warning on some asshole's Twitter account, and I wasn't in the mood to try and stay in the dark for a day or two until we finally found the time to watch.

We called it a night much later than usual, nearly midnight, which put me behind on this nonsense and makes me want to just go to bed, frankly.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Illness, Maid, Annoyance, Lunch, TiVo, Movies, The Philadelphia Story, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Katherine Hepburn, His Girl Friday, North By Northwest, My Man Godfrey, William Powell, Criterion Collection, The Thin Man, Television, Lost

Why Is It Called A Pick-Up Window Then?

My sweet wife gifted me with several items for Valentine's Day yesterday, not the least of which was a new design from Fright Rags inspired by Joe Dante's early 80's werewolf classic The Howling. We spent a quiet day together, watched a movie and our normal Fox animation stuff in the evening, it was a good day.

I called in food at a little Mom & Pop type burger joint across town in the early afternoon, then headed out to pick it up. I should have known there'd be issues when the guy taking my order tried to misspell my name (which begins with a 'B') back to me as "...now that's 'M'..." when he took the order. I get to the place, which is packed for lunch, drive up to the little window and ring their bell that supposedly gets their attention inside. Minutes pass, so I put the car in park and give the bell another couple pokes for good measure, just so they know I mean business. At the very least, I know it's working, as you can hear it ringing faintly through the window. I Google the place's number on the iPhone while giving it another couple rings, tell the guy who answers that I'm at his pick up window with no response, to which he casually replies "Yeah, you can pick it up inside."

Say again? "We're short on help today, so you can pick it up inside."

"Oh, cool, yeah, I'll get right on that..." I replied as I drove away from their restaurant, presumably forever, because I hold a grudge like a Middle Easterner. The fuck wouldn't you mention this when I ordered by phone, asshole? Why wouldn't you at least say, hey, sorry, but we'd appreciate it if you could come inside, or at the very least put a sign on the 'pick-up' window indicating that it's now nothing but a regular-ass window, and you can't pick up jack shit there.

I called the wife, apologized for my irritation having screwed up our lunch order, got different requests from her, then hit an alternative drive-through that (wonder of wonders) actually gave me my food at a window rather than forcing to to schlep inside and mill around with the great unwashed.

We ate, watched a few things off the TiVo, then she retired to the bedroom in the afternoon, as she had a couple meetings in the evening and has been borderline sick for the past few days, so she hoped the rest would do her some good. I headed to the Office and worked on the reviews that I've piled up notes for, getting a couple of those polished up for submission later this week, then the wife was up and getting ready for her meetings, so I wound up my web nonsense to visit with her for a few before she left.

I ended up popping in something from the 'to-watch' pile, the 5th volume of the 42nd Street Forever series from Synapse, the Alamo Drafthouse Edition. Filled with trailers for oddball films, it actually left me scrambling for the laptop to research a couple titles that I'd like to track down, though there's always that question in the back of your head about which version you'll be able to find, as these Exploitation films are often released in different cuts, under different titles, which is frustrating as all hell for an anal retentive dude like me who wants to make sure he gets every bit of sleaze that the director intended.

I watched the little documentary about the Alamo Drafthouse itself on the disc, one moment of which featured Sybil Danning, an actress from The Howling II: Your Sister Is A Werewolf, which I have on the 'to-watch' pile as well, and since I'd recently got the shirt (and the wife had never seen the original film), I started planning a little quasi-marathon for us. We can even check out the 3rd sequel right now now Netfux Instant Watch, so I sprung the idea on her when she got home and she seemed game, so we settled in with a late dinner and watched The Howling.

The Howling holds up pretty well, though the effects aren't quite as impressive as those of the 'other' werewolf movie from the early 80's, An American Werewolf In London, but it's still an admirable effort from everyone involved. Okay, 'cept maybe for Dee Wallace, her character did nothing but whine for an hour and a half, everything she said seemed to have a slightly nagging tone that kinda made my asshole pucker every time she spoke. No wonder a serial killer was obsessed with her in the film, I kinda wanted her dead myself by the 45 minute mark of the film.

We called it a night around 10:00, as is our custom.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Gifts, Fright Rags, T-Shirts, Joe Dante, The Howling, Lunch, Annoyance, Shitty Service, TiVo, Reviews, Writing, 42nd Street Forever Alamo Drafthouse Edition, Synapse Films, DVD, Sybil Danning, The Howling II Your Sister Is A Werewolf, An American Werewolf In London, Dee Wallace

Cinematic Sunday One Hundred Twenty Seven

Has it a been a week already? Where has my life gone?

First up this evening we have the new film from Neil Marshall, he of The Descent and Doomsday fame. His new film is called Centurion, and it stars Michael Fassbender, Dominic West and Olga Kurylenko in the tale of Roman soldiers caught behind enemy lines, desperately trying to survive in the hostile environment. The action looks interesting and I dig the talent involved, so this is something I will definitely be keeping an eye out for, as there's no release date set yet.



Next up we have the trailer for a film called The Silent House (La Casa Muda) from director Gustavo Hernandez. It stars Florence Colucci, Abel Tripaldi and Gustavo Alonso in a story that alleges to be based on true events from 1945 that involved two brutal murders that left the corpses disfigured, missing their tongues. The hook that I keep reading about is that it's filmed in one continuous 72 minute shot from a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The trailer is intriguing, and the single shot idea makes me want to see what they were able to achieve, so keep your eyes peeled for this one.



Finally we have something a little different, the trailer for an older film (2008) that's finally set to hit DVD here in the States (it's been out in the UK for quite some time), a film called Parasomnia, from director William Malone. The film is about a girl played by Cherilyn Wilson, who suffers from the titular affliction, which leaves her sleeping through most of her life, waking only now and again. Dylan Purcell is the man in love with her, but unbeknownst to him, she's become the obsession of a mass murderer (and mesmerist!) played by Patrick Kilpatrick, who has designs on her for himself. The film looks amazingly bizarre as far as the visuals go, and I've enjoyed some of Malone's work in the past, so this will be something I'm looking to rent when July rolls around.



Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Movies, Trailers, Centurion, Neil Marshall, Michael Fassbender, Dominic West, Olga Kurylenko, The Silent House, Gustavo Hernandez, Florence Colucci, Abel Tripaldi, Gustavo Alonso, Parasomnia, William Malone, Cherilyn Wilson, Dylan Purcell, Patrick Kilpatrick

THAT Was More Disgusting Than Two Years Of Horror Movies!

The wife and I spent the day together as part of our Valentine's Weekend away from the outside world, though we did end up taking time to have lunch at the other Thai food place in the early afternoon, because I was craving their spring rolls. Seriously, I love our regular place unconditionally, but if they could get their shit together as far as the spring roll situation goes, I'd probably die of happiness. We ate and then took the long way home so that I could pick up a coffee to keep me awake for a few hours longer.

Once we got back to the house we both piddled with this or that, until it became apparent that we both had plans to leave almost immediately again to run errands for tomorrow's Valentine's Day treats for one another. I decided to lay my cards out and just asked if she wanted to go with me, as it sounded as though we were both going to end up at a grocery store anyway. She agreed, so we went to HEB and went through a list of stuff for tomorrow night's dinner, as well as stuff for one another. I got her three dozen roses to arrange at the house, and she got me a small orchid that I commented on as we made our way through the floral department, so the surprises weren't all that surprising, but I have to admit that in a really corny way, I rather enjoyed having her to share my shopping experience with. I honestly have something of a hard time not telling her about gift items, as we spend so much time together, it seems really really weird to try and keep details of my day a secret from her.

Once we got everything home and the groceries put away, I drug out a wedding gift that we'd never used, an enormous urn that would hold all three dozen roses comfortably, then got the flowers worked into a large bouquet and placed, to the wife's approval.

We chilled in the den and watched some odds and ends off the TiVo, then finished off the Austin Powers set with a re-watch of the 3rd film, Goldmember, which I recalled as being something of a disappointment. The re-watch refreshed my varying quibbles with the film, not the least of which is the addition of yet another asinine accent for Myers to do with the Goldmember character. Beyoncé almost offsets that with her jive-talking ass-kicking character Foxy Cleopatra, but not quite.

I popped in another Blu-ray from the 'to-watch' pile, a little romantic comedy that I thought would be appropriate for the season. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, which stars Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as two young indie/hipster types falling in love over the course of a night out in New York City while they try to track down a super secret performance by their favorite band. I wasn't sure what to expect, save for Cera's typical hesitant nerdy delivery, but the film was actually rather sweet and had lots of cameos from numerous other familiar faces.

There was one bit that had the wife was covering her face in horror at one point, as Dennings' girlfriend was in a bus station bathroom, vomiting from her over-indulgence at the bar. She then proceeds to drop her cellphone and the gum that she's been chewing all night into the public toilet full of vomit and God knows what else. She then fishes both out of the toilet and continues to chew the gum, which prompted the wife to squeal that "...the gum thing is worse than any horror movie we've seen in two years!", which I kinda had to agree, it was pretty disgusting. It was also sort of out of character for the rest of the film, all of which felt like it was handled with a certain amount of kid gloves, which made the gross out humor stand out all the more. Oh well, it was a cute movie, I'd definitely give it a re-watch at some point.

We called it a night around 10:00, as is our custom.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Valentines Day, Lunch, Errands, Shopping, TiVo, Television, Movies, Blu-ray, Austin Powers, Goldmember, Nick And Norahs Infinite Playlist, Michael Cera, Kat Dennings

Backing The Computer's Ass Up

I'm currently writing to you from the laptop, which doesn't generally happen from here at the house unless some oddball complications have arisen. The wife updated the anti-virus software on the PC earlier in the week, so I'd been meaning to run a full diagnostic just to make certain everything was in proper running order. I decided that this afternoon was as good of a time as any, but unfortunately I might've started a bit earlier, as I'm looking at the process being at the 76% completely stage, due to new 'bells and whistles' feature that backs up the contents of the hard drive. This back-up feature is the hangup, as it's been at it for the longest time and we're only three quarters of the way there. I'm really glad I wasn't thinking this would be something I could start in the early evening, as it might not finish until the dawn's early light.

As it stands, I figure I will be wrapping up my normal interweb routines in the small hours of the night about the same time this turkey finally finishes whatever the hell it's currently doing to the PC. I wasn't planning on working on any reviews today, so that's something of a relief, as the PC would've been tied up and aggravating me, and I'd prefer to get this process finished in its entirety while I can kinda keep an eye on it, as recent experiences with the computer have made me a tad gunshy about leaving it to its own devices.

I picked up lunch for the wife and I in the early afternoon, then we basically chilled in the den and caught up with the odds and ends of this week's television off the TiVo, as we'd skipped our normal Thursday night line-up last night in favor of our Jason Voorhees marathon.

One show I don't know if I've mentioned that is truly cracking me up each week is Archer on FX. The show is the brainchild of Adam Reed, who also created Sealab 2021 and Frisky Dingo, so me liking this is a no-brainer. H. Jon Benjamin is the lead, whose deadpan delivery kills me. There was a gag this week about the Archer guy's mom being out on a boat called The Chum Guzzler that had me rolling. It's a fun show, I certainly hope it gets another season.

The wife caught a nap in the late afternoon, around the time I started the PC scanning process, so I decided to grab something off the 'to-watch' pile of Blu-ray stuff and give it a spin. I ended up with The Terminator, which I don't think I've seen in its entirety in many years, so that was a fun experience.

Later, in a really strange move, I finally broke the plastic on the Austin Powers set that I had picked up from a Warner Brothers sale several months back. The wife and I each grabbed a snack item, eschewing a full meal for dinner in favor of grazing on this or that, then settled in for some International Mystery and bad orthodontics. Y'know, I have to say, while the movies are still fun and all, Jesus Christ are they amazingly dated on the re-watch. Hell, Terminator was full of bad fashion, neon & mullets and it still didn't feel as dated as the first two Austin Powers movies do now, it's pretty sad. I suppose that's the curse of anything remotely topical, but these seem to really suffer more than some other things.

We called it a night shortly after the 2nd film in the series, I want to try to wrap up the set this weekend if possible.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Technology, Computers, Frustration, Television, TiVo, Archer, Adam Reed, H Jon Benjamin, Sealab 2021, Frisky Dingo, Movies, Blu-ray, The Terminator, Austin Powers

Thursday, The 11th

The wife and I got up this morning to the chilly weather, but no sign of the winter mix that they'd threatened us with, no snow or sleet or any of that nonsense, which was a pleasant surprise. The wife piddled with some stuff in the Office while I made some coffee and watched this week's episode of Fringe in the bedroom.

Fringe continues to impress and entertain me each week, I was very happy with the reveals that happened this time around, just in time for them to take a month or more off, but the past couple weeks' worth of shows have been throwing out more revelations within the core group of characters, it makes the hiatus worthwhile. I was also surprised to find out how super cute Anna Torv actually is when you doll her up even slightly, as evidenced in a photo spread for an upcoming issue of Esquire. It's weird to see her in a sexy light after watching a couple seasons worth of her with little make-up and a pony tail, but man, she's a real looker if given the chance.

On a complete wild hair I decided to hit up the 'to-watch' pile for something that I didn't feel the need to review, so I threw on a Blu-ray copy of The 40 Year Old Virgin, which I hadn't seen since we originally rented it several years ago. I would also fucking marvel at the idea that it's been a several years since this film came out, as it seems like yesterday. I suppose it must've been back there somewhere behind me, in the dust that was my youth. The movie was every bit as amusing as I remembered, and actually wasn't as bloated feeling as other Judd Apatow films have been in the intervening years.

Continuing with the attempted clearing of the 'to-watch' pile, I ended up having my own little oddly timed marathon of the first three Friday The 13th films on Blu-ray this afternoon and evening, as we'd canceled plans to be out of the house for a fundraiser (don't worry, they already got their check, we just didn't go fuck with their dinner affair) and were planning on staying in for the night. The Friday films held up well, though the third (which was offered in 3-D as well) wasn't all that exciting for me. I have to be honest, the 3rd film wasn't something that I had ever seen in its entirety and I wasn't all that blown away with this initial viewing. We watched a bit of it in 3-D, then switched to the normal 2-D rather than give ourselves a headache just to commit to the novelty of it all. I have to say that by the time we hit the final reel of the film, we were making fun of it more than watching the film, so it was enjoyable on some level, but not how I expected.

We called it a night around 10:00, as is our custom.

Be seeing you.

Tag, you're it, Baggy Eyes! Television, Fringe, Anna Torv, Magazines, Esquire, Movies, Blu-ray, The 40 Year Old Virgin, Judd Apatow, Friday The 13th