Wednesday, November 30, 2005

It's no secret that I love and depend on IMDb. It's a rare day that I don't hit it to help settle an obscure trivia question or just to putz around.

One of the things that I love most is that you can vote on films (and TV shows), ranking them on a 1-10 scale. Each vote is counted toward the movie's overall rating, and they keep a running tally of everything you've voted on.

The good folks at IMDb have now set things up so you can publicly share your vote history. Here's mine. I've also added this to my links over on the right, under "Media."

I've only ranked about 200 movies so far, which is a fraction of the number of films I've seen in my life. I hope to flesh out the list soon. I'll also probably adjust my rankings a bit. Some flicks have risen in my estimation on repeated viewings, while others were given unwarranted extra points in the flush of having just watched them.

I've long held that if you want to know people, find out what their favorite movies, music, and books are. Here's the film window into my persona. Enjoy reading the entrails.

Posted @ 6:26 AM

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Monday, November 28, 2005

The ol' decorations are up here at the HoC... must truly be Christmastime again.

I keep meaning to change that image, maybe replace it with something more flashy, but why muck around with tradition?

Posted @ 9:55 PM

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Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Heading off to start my holiday here in a few minutes. I probably won't see teh intarnets again until Sunday.

Yes, I'll be up watching the parade tomorrow morning, just as I have for nearly thirty years. It's my way, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Have a happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

Posted @ 1:39 PM

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Tuesday, November 22, 2005

If you're planning on getting me a Christmas present and your budget is in the high Sharper Image range, let me steer you toward the perfect item.

Shawna Trpcic, the costume designer for Firefly, is auctioning off Mal Reynolds' actual screen-worn browncoat. The auction starts on December 1st, with an opening bid of $1500. It's even my size!

If anyone wants to get in my best good graces for my next several lifetimes, this is the way to go.

Posted @ 1:31 PM

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Monday, November 21, 2005

I hadn't looked at my site stats for this place in at least a year, but the subject came up in conversation with a friend last week (Hi Karen!), so I've starting checking them again over the past few days.

I was just cruising the stats, and I stumbled across something so horrific that I may never be able to look at them again.

Under searches that brought people here on Sunday, this one was listed near the bottom:


dolph lundgren manhood

Now, if you'll pardon me, I need to go find a nice, sharp ice pick and perform a home lobotomy on myself.

Posted @ 1:28 PM

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Wednesday, November 16, 2005

Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce my new TV girlfriend:


Her name is Julia Boorstin. She's a writer/reporter for Fortune magazine and a regular commentator on various CNN shows. I stumbled across her for the first time last night while flipping channels. To give you an idea of how bowled over I was by this woman, I actually continued to watch her even after I realized I was on FOX News, and she was talking to the execrable Bill O'Reilly.

All I know about her is what I saw last night and what I read in this profile. I don't even know what her voice sounds like (I may have had to watch O'Reilly to look at her, but I wasn't about to turn up the sound).

Frankly, I don't care what else I find out about her. If it turns out her main goal in life is to see the complete works of Shakespeare eradicated from human memory and replaced with the books of Robert James Waller, that would not dim my infatuation one iota.

(For those of you keeping score, Ms. Boorstin succeeds previous TV co-girlfriends Allison Janney and Tina Fey. Sorry about this, ladies. It's not you, it's me.)

Posted @ 5:08 PM

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Monday, November 14, 2005

When did we, as a nation, start mispronouncing the word "milk?" In the last few weeks I've become increasingly aware of an annoying tendency for people say the word as if it were spelled with an "e" rather than an "i."

I don't know what this "melk" stuff is, but I know there's no way I'm going to drink it. It sounds grey, thick, and yucky.

Posted @ 12:03 AM

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Monday, November 07, 2005

John Scalzi brings us another movie meme today, this one based on The Rough Guide to Comedy Movies by Bob McCabe.

How to play:
- Bold the ones you've seen
- Pick the five that you consider most worthy, five you'd kick off the list, and suggest five that you feel deserve inclusion.

The 50 Most Significant Comedy Films of All Time

Airplane!
All About Eve
Amelie
Annie Hall
The Apartment
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Blazing Saddles
Bringing Up Baby
Broadcast News
Caddyshack
Le diner de con
Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
Duck Soup
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Four Weddings and a Funeral
The General
Ghostbusters
The Gold Rush
Good Morning Vietnam
The Graduate
Groundhog Day
A Hard Day's Night
His Girl Friday
Kind Hearts and Coronets
The Lady Killers
Local Hero
Manhattan
M*A*S*H
Monty Python's Life of Brian
National Lampoon's Animal House
The Odd Couple
The Producers
Raising Arizona
Roxanne
Rushmore
Shaun of the Dead
A Shot in the Dark
Some Like it Hot
Strictly Ballroom
Sullivan's Travels
There's Something About Mary
This is Spinal Tap
To Be or Not to Be
Tootsie
Toy Story
Les vacances de M. Hulot
When Harry Met Sally...
Withnail and I

Cream of the Crop: Bringing Up Baby, Groundhog Day, His Girl Friday, Local Hero, Monty Python's Life of Brian

Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday are pure brilliance from the golden age of Hollywood.

Life of Brian is a no-brainer. The best Python film hands down, and that is saying something.

If you don't appreciate the genius of Groundhog Day, you don't know funny.

Local Hero is, as I've mentioned before, in my top three overall favorite films. Its presence legitimizes the list.

Films I'd Boot: Austin Powers, Dodgeball, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Good Morning Vietnam, Roxanne

Roxanne was my hardest call here. It's a great movie, but I just don't think it passes muster. I can think of at least three other Steve Martin films that are more worthy, and if one of his should make the list, I'd go with L.A. Story.

Good Morning Vietnam doesn't really qualify as a comedy in my book; it's more of a drama/war flick, with moments where Robin Williams makes with the funny.

The first Austin Powers isn't even the best Austin Powers movie, and none of them belongs within six city blocks of this list.

Dodgeball is the only one I'd kick off that I haven't seen, but I'm sticking to my guns on the choice. Seems far too deriviative of a couple dozen movies that have come out over the last decade or so, which is the main reason I have yet to see it.

Four Weddings and a Funeral would be a first ballot Hall of Famer but for its one fatal flaw: Andie MacDowell. She completely butchers her role and anytime she's onscreen, the movie just falls apart. (Oddly, I think she's perfect in Groundhog Day. Go figure)

Grievous Ommissions: The Blues Brothers, A Christmas Story, My Favorite Year, The Philadelphia Story, Waiting for Guffman

A Christmas Story and My Favorite Year deserve the nod for the same reasons: each tells a very personal story in a highly intelligent and humorous way. Plus, both celebrate the past without wallowing in nostalgia, which is a very tricky thing to do.

I'm convinced the only reason Phildelphia Story and Guffman didn't make the list is because Bringing Up Baby and Spinal Tap did. Both are too intrisically great and significant to be overlooked.

Blues Brothers is an unmitigated masterpiece, and is the absolute best SNL derived movie. Easily a top five comedy.


Once again, I'm shocked at how few of these I've seen. 28 out of 50 is much lower than I would have expected. Looks like I've got some more catch-up learning to do.

Posted @ 12:59 PM

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