A little over 24 hours until the first wave of trick or treaters ring the bell and I don’t have candy in the house.  You might remember I got a sweet deal on mini sized Play-Doh for treats…well, my husband is demanding candy be given out as well. 

     See, he’s from Detroit.  And he remembers what Detroit kids would have done to the house that didn’t give out candy on Halloween.  I believe he specifically mentioned me finding Play-Doh in the keyhole of the front door.  So, I’ll grab some candy, for sure, before tomorrow evening.  Two treats are better than one, right?

Popularity: 6% [?]

I review the Michael Jackson documentary: This Is It.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Rated PG – 1h52 -

Prepare yourself for a Michael Jackson love festival, that will please the fans, but is just a touch too long.

The documentary This Is It is a collection of footage filmed as Jackson was preparing for a series of sold out London concerts that never happened. The footage was supposed to be kept in his personal library.

After hearing the length of the film, I predicted a run time of 1h52 might be a bit too long. Most documentaries need to keep under 90 minutes or they run the risk of repeating themselves. That is also true for This Is It.

On a purely technical level, I can’t say this documentary is anything great. The focus is mostly on Jackson, but it also drifts to the other, less interesting performers in his entourage. They’re just a googly eyed as the fans that scream their heads off at the mere sight of MJ.

What was interesting is something you don’t see. Jackson is not sickly and drugged out. If anything, he’s drunk on his passion for his music.

There is a certain grandiose sort of tragedy to this film. You get to see some excellent behind the scene footage showing Jackson’s persistently striving for perfection. You get to see being a shot caller. You get to see the reason why he’s known to the world as the King of Pop. You also get the feeling that this is the last you ever get to see of him.

I took particular note of some things I consider to be trademarks of a professional performer. 1. Do they keep going even after making a mistake? 2. After stopping in the middle of a song, how quickly can you pick up exactly where you left off. Jackson nails them both.

I feel for the filmmaker in this case. He obviously spent a ton of time prepping the video sequences that were to be used in the concerts. If I were him, I would have demanded that this film be made just so somebody could watch them.

I can’t say I felt any more for Jackson after watching This Is It. I knew he was a great musician. I knew he was a professional. I knew the guy had moves.

I guess the film achieved its goal, because I still wish I’d be able to see more of him. That’s a true professional. Always leave them wanting more.

Overall Ratings: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
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Popularity: 9% [?]

There seems to be much less animosity heading into this weekend’s Green Bay-Minnesota game. Just to make sure nobody ends up with hurt feelings…I’ve decided to make Fletch, Heather and myself do a little dance with Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.

I’m so good at this, I should start negotiating worldwide peace talks…

Click to listen…

Popularity: 8% [?]

     My mom finally made it in last night from Tallahassee (via Memphis)…I say finally because she should have arrived at 8:30pm but it was after 10pm before the plane touched down.  There is not much you can do in a case like this but laugh so here’s the scenario we came up with…

     What if an airport employee on the west coast decided to stop for coffee on the way into work and ended up running three minutes late.  That led to throwing off the baggage department, who had to hold a plane for a bit due to needing the right amount of workers to load suitcases and whatnot.  And so on and so on, until it’s 7:15pm in Memphis and the plane from San Antonio hasn’t arrived yet to ferry passengers up to Madison.  All for that one, lowly cup o’ joe…

     Again, might as well laugh in situations like that because you sure can’t do anything about it!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Browsing through the news today, I saw this story which caught my attention. It nearly gave me a headache, but I’m sure it’s not a tumor.

California’s Governor Arnold “The Governator” Schwarzenegger seems to be a bit upset with his state of politics. From what I can see…he told his fellow politicians to go sit on it. OK, that’s putting it nicely. He didn’t full out pump them full of lead, but in  a rather boring letter about budget negotiations, he seemingly drops a major F-BOMB in their direction.

I’ve been known to do a puzzle or two, so I know when the words line up the right way it’s rarely a mistake. As you see in this letter, the letters on the left side of each paragraph seem to spell out the naughtiest of all curse words.

Was it a mistake or on purpose?  I think he may be getting bored of all that governing and was trying to entertain himself.

Then again, this seems kind of clever.  I may be giving him too much credit.

Hasta la vista, Baby. I  gotta go.  Somebody is knocking on the door asking for a Sarah Connor.

Click on the image to see the full thing. Careful. May be NSFW.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Popularity: 8% [?]

     I am.  I’m looking forward to it actually.  And, for the record, I would have seen this documentary if Michael Jackson hadn’t died. 

     I never would have had the chance to see one of the actual concerts in London.  The film is also the only opportunity to get that great behind the scenes angle of such a large production.  In this Associated Press story, it’s clear that even casual MJ fans loved the movie.  I’m particularly excited to see how his creative process worked, with people who could make his idea of magic happen.  Full review next week!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Happy Birthday to John Cleese today.

I recall as a kid staying up late on Saturday nights, just catch a PBS rerun of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. I never really understood what was going on, but I liked seeing that giant foot come crashing down from the sky and watching the bearded man with ragged clothes at the end of the show.

It wasn’t until years later that I realized I was watching comic genius. I was about 15 when I saw “A Fish Called Wanda” and realized that John Cleese was the same guy in the comedy show I watched when I was younger.

It was an amazing revelation, so some friends and I rented Monty Python’s Holy Grail. About 20 years later, I’m still quoting lines from it. Pure classic.

In any case, Happy Birthday John…lets celebrate with a greatest hits….

Popularity: 2% [?]

Rated R – 1h44 -

The Coen Brothers deliver another rich and dark comedy about a man losing touch with his world. It’s not laugh out loud funny, but there are consistent chuckles throughout.

Larry Gopnik (Michael Stuhlbarg) is not a loser, but he can’t figure out why his kids could care less him, why his wife wants to leave him, why his gun happy neighbor hates him and why god has forsaken him. He’s a man of science but even proofed mathematical equations don’t seem to help him much either. He frequently has to ask “what’s going on?”

Set in a Jewish community in 1967 suburbia (possibly Minneapolis), Larry tries to reconcile his problems by talking to a series of Rabbis, who don’t seem to provide the answers he needs. They try to explain that “stuff “ sometimes just happens.

I do get the feeling that the Coen Brothers really wanted to make a film like this because it touches on the silly nuances of life. I get the feeling they personally know people similar to the ones we see on the screen. It’s a treat, because you get the feeling you’re watching some well polished and defined performances.

It may not be their greatest accomplishments, but I would be surprised if this doesn’t show up in the best movie category at the Oscars.

Overall Ratings: (Out of Four)
Date Friendly:
Good Humor:
Artistic Value:
Drama
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Popularity: 7% [?]