• Movies - Perfectly Dreadful Movies

    Coolio, ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ Rapper, Dies at 59 –

    From a bookish, asthmatic child to crack addict to mainstream recording powerhouse, Coolio charted a path to hip-hop superstardom like no other. — Read on www.nytimes.com/2022/09/28/arts/music/coolio-rapper-dead.html Sad news for music fans. Fans of fine action movies will look up his Wikipedia listing and wonder if they should watch his movie “Submerged” out of respect. They should not. Nil nisi bonum, my dudes.

  • Movies - SciFi/Fantasy

    There Has Been or Will Be An Awakening

    Listen to that voice. Who is it? Maaaaaaybe THIS GUY? Fan reactions at Digital Spy are undecided as to who the voiceover is, but I think it’s Benedict Cumberbatch. I recently watched a rerun of Graham Norton where Cumberbatch was encouraged/goaded/genially forced to say things in different voices, including a very funny bit of Smaug. BONUS: Benedict Cumberbatch can’t say “Penguins” which is very awkward considering he voiced a heroic wolf who helps save the Penguins of Madagascar in the new animated feature out this weekend. EXTRA BONUS FOR PEOPLE WITH LADYPARTS OR A THING FOR SMAUG: Sexy Smaug voice…

  • Books - Movies

    Reading and Writing and Eating and Sleeping

    Not too long ago, I got an email from Amazon: We’re pleased to announce that the Amazon Associates program is again open to residents of the State of Illinois. We’re now able to re-open the program because the Illinois State Supreme Court recently struck down legislation that had forced Amazon to close the program to residents of Illinois. Amazon strongly supports federal legislation like the Marketplace Fairness Act that’s now pending before Congress, which is the only constitutional way to resolve interstate sales tax collection issues. Well, now. It seems like I have to re-apply if this email is to…

  • Movies

    Haunting Images of Oblivion: See the Film Before You Get Spoiled

    Don’t read that 2011 press blurb about Tom Cruise’s latest movie, Oblivion, if you haven’t seen the film. It gives away some of the best twists in a pretty satisfyingly twisty and stylish science fiction outing. It may show up as a link on GooglePlus; I wanted to see what had been written about the film back when the project got Tom Cruise to commit and was shocked to see that the premise and biggest surprise twist was awkwardly given away. What I found satisfactory about the film was that I was still trying to work out the “bedrock premise”…

  • Geek Out! - Movies - SciFi/Fantasy

    Nerds Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Roman Numerals To Identify Star Trek Movies

    My husband David and I were watching a cable rerun of one of the original-cast Star Trek movies last night, because we are nerds and thus we have no life. The official title of this movie is something long and involved: Star Trek (Insert Roman Numeral Here): The Search For Spock. At least in our house, the official name of this movie is actually “Star Trek: You Klingon Bastard, You Killed My Son. You Klingon Bastard, You Killed My Son. YOU KLINGON BASTARD, YOU KILLED MY SON.” It takes place on the Genesis planet, immediately after the events in the…

  • Movies

    A Magically Mechanical Movie: “Hugo” – See It In A Premium Theater If You Can

    Roger Ebert gave a highly positive review of “Hugo” recently: “Hugo” is unlike any other film Martin Scorsese has ever made, and yet possibly the closest to his heart: a big-budget, family epic in 3-D, and in some ways, a mirror of his own life. We feel a great artist has been given command of the tools and resources he needs to make a movie about — movies. That he also makes it a fable that will be fascinating for (some, not all) children is a measure of what feeling went into it. via Hugo :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews Scorsese…

  • Movies

    You Must Go See The Muppets As Soon As Possible

    One of the best reasons for seeing the newest Muppets movie is for the ‘where are they now?’ treatment they get – some are doing better than others; Miss Piggy is doing pretty well and looking fabulous in pink Chanel in Paris. There are many, many truly laugh out loud moments, and many more “Did they really say that?” chuckles. We’ve decided we’ll have to go see it again later, or be sure to get the inevitable DVD with all the goodies, just to catch all the juicy gags that were hard to catch in a packed theater. The Muppet…

  • Movies - Music - The Never-Ending Bloga

    Okay, Last.fm, I give in. I’m scrobbling again… to The Muppets. Blogging muse must be fed.

    I’ve given in to Last.fm, as I found that it was easy to add a widget to scrobble tracks I’ve listened to on iTunes or via Last.fm (it’s not working for the internet radio stations I listen to on Winamp). So far, I’ve listened to random things, and something I created called “The Muppets Radio.” It’s made for some interesting audio moments, which eventually led to Monty Python and something wacky called Moxy Fruvious. It’s high time I opened up to new music… I’m hoping it’ll help me dare to be a bit more productive and creative around here. If…

  • Movies

    Kung Fu Panda 2 A Rousing Extended Tale (Pun Intended)

    We saw Kung Fu Panda 2 yesterday, and it was a joy to see a sequel that extended the original story so seamlessly and with such generous emotional satisfaction. Ebert liked it too, but thought the 3-D version detracted. Based on that assessment, we saw the “normal” 2-D version, and liked it very much indeed: “Kung Fu Panda 2” is exactly as you’d expect, and more. The animation is elegant, the story is much more involving than in the original, and there’s boundless energy. I enjoyed it as fully as I possibly could, given the horror of its 3-D. The…