We’ll start this week’s travels at the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and LaBrea Avenue… …where this pavilion marks the beginning… …of this! This song gets stuck in my head every time I take this walk: Everybody’s a dreamer, everybody’s a star, And everybody’s in movies, it doesn’t matter who you are. There are stars in every city, In every house and on every street, And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard Their names are written […]
Whose “15 minutes of fame” do you think needs to be over, right about…NOW? That was Karen’s question this week: Weekend Assignment # 341: Overexposed Some things (or people) explode into the culture, are really big for a while and then overstay their welcome. Who or what are you really tired of seeing, hearing or reading about these days? Extra Credit: What discarded bit of pop culture do you remember fondly? I couldn’t limit myself […]
Comic-Con International. San Diego, California. Four days of pop culture at its finest – and sometimes its edgiest, and strangest. For some participants, it barely touches on comics at all, unless the comic has some connection with a movie or TV show. Some of Comic-Con is pretty much what you’d expect from the name. About 1/4 of the Exhibit Hall floor was taken up by small comic-book dealers and independent artists and writers, while another […]
Last Weekend (movie) Reviews: Twofer at the Theater Iron Man 2Action/Drama, 2010Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth PaltrowDirector: Jon Favreau While “origin stories” are interesting, I’ve found that when it comes to certain movie franchises, I like the sequels more. We know how the hero became who he (or she) is, and now we can just watch them do their thing. This is especially gratifying when the hero is facing a strong and equally intriguing nemesis […]
I couldn’t come up with a Question of the Week this week, so I thought I’d tell you about something else we did this past weekend. Mini Movie Review: Date Night We saw Date Night last Sunday (in the afternoon, actually – ). The basic plot was kind of ridiculous, in my opinion. Unless a movie is clearly meant to be make-believe, I’m starting to lose patience with movies that have realistic trappings but premises […]
Tall Paul and I observed our fifth anniversary – of our first date – this past weekend. We’ve usually commemorated it by returning to the place we met for lunch that day, but we just learned that it’s closed. It was just as well, though, since we’d made other plans for that day. I may have mentioned previously that we’re planning to attend Comic Con International in San Diego this summer. Tall Paul went to […]
How to Train Your Dragon Dreamworks Animation, 2010 Diary of a Wimpy Kid 20th Century Fox Animation, 2010 If you live with a middle-grade child, particularly a boy, you probably know all about the popular Wimpy Kid series of books by Jeff Kinney. And you may have had no idea that there was a book called How to Train Your Dragon (actually, it’s part of series too). But both books have been turned into movies, […]
I really like movies, but as you may recall if you’ve been reading here for a while, I’ve grown to really HATE Oscar Week, which has come to signify my Annual Traffic Nightmare. My office is one street north and about four blocks west of the Kodak Theater. As it gets closer to the Academy Awards, more and more streets in the area will be closed off in preparation for the ceremonies, and the street […]
“Drama is life with the dull bits cut out.” -Alfred Hitchcock Carly is hosting the week’s Weekend Assignment, and with the Academy Awards on tap for next weekend, she asks a movie-related question: Weekend Assignment #308: This week, let’s talk about our favorite films. Do you find yourself drawn to one type of movie over another: Chick Flicks or Guy Movies, which do you think you watch most often? How often does your spouse, or […]
Up in the Air Drama, 2009 Rating: R Starring: George Clooney I do enjoy seeing a real “grown-up’s” movie every now and then. (The fact that this particular grown-up movie gives me an excuse to post a picture of George Clooney is just a nice bonus.) It seems to me that Up in the Air was one of those movies that sometimes come in at the end of the year, under the radar – no […]
I have the week off from work, since Chris (my DC-dwelling son) is with us till at least Thursday – he may wind up the week and spend New Year’s with some friends before he flies home on Saturday. He’s keeping himself pretty well occupied while he’s here – among other things, he’s written some blog posts, watched some football, bought an iPhone and (finally!) joined Twitter – and will be sending home a boxful […]
**Disclosures: My husband and I purchased our own tickets to see this movie. The purchase earned reward points for a free movie admission on a future date, through my husband’s free membership in the Regal Cinemas Crown Club.** The Invention of Lying 2009, comedy (rated PG-13) If you’ve ever thought that the world would be a better place if people were just more honest with each other, The Invention of Lying might make you reconsider […]
