Category Archives: Film and Television

Movie Reviews and TV Shows

Film and Television, Pop Culture

Movie of The Month: GrindHouse!

Grindhouse movie poster
Best…movie…ever…

Top Ten Awesome Reasons to Love Grindhouse

1. Rose McGowan. I am so gay for Rose McGowan after seeing her in this movie.

2. Freddy Rodriguez. You loved him in Six Feet Under. Now fall in love all over again.

3. Jeff Fahey! Oh my god, when was the last time you saw Jeff Fahey in a movie? I think it was in The Lawn Mower Man about a gazillion years ago. Watch Grindhouse do for Jeff Fahey’s career what Pulp Fiction did for John Travolta.

4. Bruce Willis: I even love Bruce Willis in this movie.

5. Four Words: The Crazy Babysitter Twins.

6. Trailer for Don’t!

7. Trailer for Thanksgiving!

8. Machete: “If you hire him to kill the bad guys, you had better make sure you’re not one of them.”
I LOVE IT!!!!

9. Four Words: Hypodermic Needle Garter Belt.

10. Kurt Russell as Stunt Man Mike! I think the first time I saw Kurt Russell in a film was when I was five years old and my parents took us to see Walt Disney’s The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes. Forty years later, Kurt is still kicking big screen ass. Now that’s career longevity!

Film and Television, Pop Culture

This American Life: Another Kind of Reality


Ira Glass Hosts the Best Show on TV: This American Life

I take lot of heat for being such a shameless, diehard fan of reality TV shows like The Amazing Race, Survivor, American Idol and all those embarrassingly addictive programs on Bravo such as Project Runway, Top Chef and Top Design. Clothes, food, home décor: It’s like there is a reality show specifically geared to feed each of my secret obsessions! Hurray for digital cable!

Continue reading This American Life: Another Kind of Reality →

Film and Television, Pop Culture

Awesome Photo of the Week: Actor/Director Vincent Gallo!

Vincent Gallo in Yes T-Shirt
Yes!

Nothing says, “I Love The Seventies!” quite like this photo of Vincent Gallo, which was sent to me this morning by some dude I know, whom I believe secretly wishes to be Vincent Gallo. Which reminds me, I finally saw The Brown Bunny last summer and it’s definitely worth adding to your Netflix queue, not only for its great Gordon-Lightfoot-song-including soundtrack, but also for the chance to see Vincent Gallo’s junk, which is quite impressive.

Film and Television, Pop Culture

Must-See Movie Of The Week: Pan’s Labyrinth

Pan's Labyrinth Movie Poster
The Stuff That Nightmares Are Made Of

When you plan a trip to your local movie theater, do you secretly wish to find an arty, foreign language film that manages to combine elements of Through The Looking Glass with Saw, while also giving you a Reader’s Digest condensed peek at life in rural Spain during Franco’s fascist regime? If so, I’m happy to tell you that all of your cinematic fantasies have come true with a film I just saw yesterday call Pan’s Labyrinth. This movie may be about the dark, reality-blurring adventures of a lonely, freaked-out ten year old girl named Ofelia but, trust me, it’s not for children. Unless you’re one of those deranged parents who think it’s appropriate to take your eight year old to see Hostel, in which case, pack up the whole brood!

Pans Labyrinth Monster
When you see this Dude, Get Ready for Some Fucked Up Shit to Go Down

My favorite part of Pan’s Labyrinth was when Ofelia drew a door on her bedroom wall with some chalk and pushed her way through to the banquet room of The Pale Man, who she has to sneak by in order to steal, I don’t know, some kind of thing that’s behind a locked compartment. Honestly, I wasn’t paying that close of attention. I was too absorbed in trying to figure out what the fuck was up with this naked, fleshy creature seated before a huge, sumptuous feast with his eyeballs on a plate in front of him. Hardcore!

Pan’s Labyrinth is directed by Guillermo Del Toro, the same guy who did cool films like HellBoy and Chronos, so if you liked those films go see it and then write me an email and let me know how much you think it rocked.

Film and Television, Pop Culture

Farewell, Joe Barbera

william hanna-joseph barbera-min
Animation Greats William Hanna and Joe Barbera with Tom and Jerry

Joe Barbera, half of the Hanna-Barbera animation team that produced such beloved cartoon characters as Tom and Jerry, Yogi Bear and the Flintstones, passed away Monday, December 18th , a Warner Bros. spokesman said. He was 95.

I don’t know about you, but I was rasied on Hanna-Barbera cartoons — The Flinstones and The Jetsons being two of my favorites — and even had my first crush on animated boy adventurer, Johnny Quest. The picture below represents many of Hanna-Barbera’s most popular and enduring/iconic characters. That really takes me back. Maybe it’s cheaper to make all cartoons in Asia these days, but you sure don’t see the same quality as you did back in the day.