Movie Review: The Muppets

Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Jim Henson, Frank Oz and Dave Goelz

I haven’t written anything other than business letters and passive aggressive emails for some time now. I’ve been thinking about loss lately, mostly because I lost my grandfather in late September. I can’t help but feel that I didn’t have the chance to really make him proud before he left us. Maybe that’s because I refused to believe he was really leaving and that coincided with the recent realization that I will never be famous.  There is a palpable absence in my heart and mind during those stark moments when I recognize that he is no longer here where we are right now. Do they even have the Interweb in Heaven?  A little closer to the surface, a couple rungs up the strata of my psyche is another hole, a hole for famous people.  It’s not a very big hole, but Jim Henson makes up most of it. I will one day fit Steve Martin in that hole too.  Huh, that sounds disgusting. Anyway, I remember the morning when someone at school told me Henson died, I was in denial then too.  But, last week my heart was lifted for 98 minutes and during that time everything was right with the world...almost.

Movie Review: The Same Thing From Before

So, I don't usually stray too far from the Tomatometer, but everybody else hates this movie! Sure, I haven't seen a movie in a few weeks what with all the life, death, illness, and baseball going on, but I didn't think I was that out of touch. And I don't think that I am actually. I did my homework on this one and approached it with the spirit of the season and a good sense of humor.

An Elegiac Intrusion: Life and Movies

"I just realized a good portion of this movie is about talking to people on the phone and going to meetings. Do you think that's going to fly?"

I'm reading Roger Ebert's memoir, Life Itself, and it's lovely so far. Filled with details about his life and childhood he claims that he was only able to recall after loosing the ability to speak. His tales of growing up in Urbana-Champaign evokes some long lost Rockwellian ideal. Seems like his generation was the last innocent one, a romantic notion, but probably true. Ebert has always appealed to the common man. His reviews are in plain English, they don't hide behind obscure references or theories that only academics would appreciate. He reviews in the first person because, according to him, how else would he write? He also proclaims that he's never missed a deadline.  I cannot proclaim the same.

Awesome Movie Alert! Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles

A quest for fishnets and subculture cachet led me and many of my safety-pinned friends to South Street in the mid 90’s. I could have been a senior in high school or a first year in vocational college – I can’t remember much about 1994 through 1998 (users are loser, kids). But I do remember looking down at some point during my super cool combat boot-clad strut and noticing this:

Near 5th & South.

It looked a lot better back then.  But I dismissed it.  I catalogued it as street art, possibly the product from someone with mental health issues and an art background, a classification I would later use to describe all of my best friends. But, back to the 90’s.  I continued to see these “tiles” in the street, at intersections, sometimes even in the middle of the road. We all saw them, but most of us didn’t really give them much thought.  I proceeded to take these tiles existence for granted for the next 10+ years…until last night.

Send Lawyers, Guns, and Money

Forecast illustration from Weather.com.

I'm not sure if the proverbial shit is really going to hit the proverbial fan tomorrow, but it has been a wacky week on the East Coast.  I don't think anyone was comparing our little tremble to actual natural disasters, but Tuesday's earth-quiver was a new experience for us jerky entitled Yank city-dwellers and something to talk about for sure. Now, we're waiting for a hurricane named Irene which may still be a Category 2 when it hits NYC, a city that hasn't experienced a direct hit since 1821.  Philly, which is already saturated from a very wet August following a hellish July is going to have a few problems too.

And luckily, there's little to compel you to venture out to theaters this weekend.  Don't Be Afraid of the Dark opens today and well, it's kind of boring. Read my review here at El NorrisotwnPatcharita.com

Our Idiot Brother also brings it's mellow yet tedious stylings to theaters too. Paul Rudd is pretty lovable as the naive screw-up that accidentally wreaks havoc on his family after serving time for selling weed to a uniformed police officer at the farmer's market.  There are some excellent folks in this movie, Steve Coogan, Elizabeth Banks, Zooey D. and it has some really funny parts.  Definitely queue it up for the future - or if your town has electricity you might even consider taking in the cheap matinee. I was having a really crappy day when I saw it and it actually made me feel better for like 7 minutes afterwards.

Anyway, I've charged my Kindle and have made a sacrifice to the Interweb Gods - so we'll have entertainment as we hunker down and await the apocalypse.

Now, read more to see extremely important advice concerning disaster preparedness.

30 Minutes or Less + Belated DVD Quick Bites

Nothing funnier than kidnapping and torture!

Despite a very busy week at work, I got to write a little about the new Jess Eisenberg comedy of errors that is 30 Minutes or Less.  You can read all about it here at Le Grande NorristownPatch.com.

But, I'm still sifting through notes from my DVD binge from a couple of weeks ago. I basically would watch anything since the hubbers was away at art camp. In some cases that meant old Family Ties episodes on my phone, in most other cases that meant lots of movies. So here are some Quick Bites for some DVD releases newish and oldish.

Belated DVD Reviews after the jump, yo.

Friday Fun: Quit Yer Monkeying Around!

"Monday Monkey lives for the weekend, sir."

It's Friday, Friday.  Can you hear that noise? It's me reveling in the thought of the approaching weekend.  We have house guests which means lots of eating out, catching up, and hopefully hearing an embarrassing story about my husband in high school from his dear friends who have flown all the way from St. Louis to see an aging 90's indie rock band at the Troc tomorrow. That's friendship.

Anyway, I saw a movie the other day, a movie that was so bad that it was awesome.

Behold on NorristownPatch.com  - The Rise of the Planet of the Apes as reviewed by your favorite slacker

After the jump, please partake in some Friday Fun.

Shark Week Update

OK, following the Interweb trend clickable infographics that are both easy to digest and filled with startling information, Discovery posted this as part of their Shark Week material.  Pretty sad stuff.  Thanks, Discovery for taking a break from the shark porn to remind folks that the ocean is a threatened ecosystem that could really use a break from us meddling kids, I mean humans.

Andy Samberg after the jump.

Vote for Attack the Block to Come to Philly, Please

It's about time the UK gave us an alien-themed Goonies. Popular theme these days, right?

What do these cities have in common - L.A., New York, Seattle, Chicago, Austin, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, Dallas and Washington, D.C.?  Well, apparently they are more worthy than lowly Philadelphia, Detroit, Phoenix, Portland and other 3rd rate urban crap fests.  Help prove Smelladelphia's worth by voting to bring new low-budget sci-fi flick from across the pond produced by Edgar Wright, Attack the Block, to theaters near you on August 19th. Voting closes soon and the lucky city will be announced this Friday, August 5th.  If you have no idea what I'm referring to - Attack the Block is yet another alien movie mash-up but this time it's British.  Starring a bunch of young people you've never heard of and Nick Frost, Attack the Block is the story of some rough street kids who, like all good gang-type hoodlums, make a stand to defend their territory against invaders, space invaders.

Go to Attack the Block's Facebook page and like/follow it, whatever the kids are doing these days. And don't forget to vote for Philly in the drop down menu choices of cities, dang it.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

Movie Reviews: Crazy, Stupid, Cowboys, Aliens.

Like most folks, I like cowboys and I love aliens.  So, I was pretty excited about the latest "film by John Favreau" which involved both. Overall, it's pretty entertaining, although there weren't enough Deadwood alum in it. But that's my complaint about most movies and TV.  There are so few decent space/cowboy combos, you have to give Favreau credit for this adaptation of this 2006 graphic novel. Speaking of graphic novels, I've never read one. Just wanted to share.  Anyway, check out my review here on ye old NorrisontownPatch.com.

Quick Bite of Crazy, Stupid, Love. after the jump.