Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Winter Wonderland Wednesday

I guess you could say this snowstorm has been a little bit of a letdown so far. I mean, listening to the newscasts, I thought we'd all be stuck in our homes for weeks on end. I even went to the grocery store yesterday and bought thousands of containers of water and canned goods. I'm prepared to be stuck in my apartment for the next three weeks.

Oh, I'm kidding. I just always find it funny how everyone over-reacts when snow's coming. And, you know, it's not like we're living in San Diego, a place people aren't used to the snow. We're coming off a year - winter 2008-2009 - that featured a big snowstorm every week or so, it seemed.

Besides the snow, though, we do have a big piece of news. Former Texas Rep. Charlie Wilson died. I can't really speak to the man's political career since I was a tiny little Patrick when he had his biggest impact, but I can speak to the underrated greatness of "Charlie Wilson's War," the 2007 comedy starring Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman (that's him above). I thought Hoffman deserved the best supporting actor Oscar that year over Javier Bardem, but, hey, what do I know? If Mr. Wilson's death does anything good, it's that people should go out and find this movie that too many folks overlooked around the 2007 holiday season.

Anything else going on? Well, yeah, actually. One of my favorite television shows, "Friday Night Lights," has announced that it will end after its fifth season, which will air at some point next year. NBC hasn't even begun to air the fourth season yet, but let me just say you will not find a better-acted or better-written show on television. Not one.

That's about it. I leave you with a video. I've been listening to some Refreshments lately. Here's "Down Together," a tune from, like, an eon ago.

7 comments:

Lauren said...

i love friday night lights. it's quite sad. i look forward to Thursday mornings when I can watch the newest episode online, since I don't have direct TV. again, very sad little patrick.

Anonymous said...

And a gross injustice that neither Kyle Chandler nor Connie Britton have ever been handed an Emmy for their great work on the show!

So, this year we lose "Lost," and next year "FNL." Quality TV (for me) will be reduced to Amazing Race and the Venture Brothers. Yes, that IS as sad a commentary on my life as you think it is.

Anonymous said...

I AM BIG!
I AM LOUD!
I AM CONFUSING!
I AM FILLED WITH INDIANS WEARING HEADSETS!

Bet ya thought I was one of the casinos, huh?

NOPE! It's just me, the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics, everyone! How's everybody doin' out there! Hey, if you just stick around for another 3 or 4 hours, I'll gladly underwhelm you! Free of charge! Bet you can't get THAT at any of your silly Vegas-east casinos!

P.S.
If anyone happens to know the whereabouts of Lindsey Vahnn, please let her know that we're holding up the tribal pole dancing segment for her...

Anonymous said...

Pat - just wanted to let you know that I caught a screener last night in NYC of "Shutter Island" with a friend and - without giving a whit of plot away - I'll say it's everything that "Avatar" should be. Scorcese, an immensely knowledgable and talented director, fires on all cylinders and uses his immense talent and resources to produce a polished, well-acted, good old fashioned thriller. In other words, no creepy moralizing, no liberal apologism, and no overwhelming and unnecessary use of special effects (don't get me wrong - there are special effects, but they serve a purpose, other than call attention to the fact that they're special effects [if that makes any sense]).

DiCaprio (who I usually dislike) is quite good, as is Mark Ruffalo, Ben Kingsley and the uber-creepy Max VonSydow.

I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when it hits the area, but again, it sure does raise interesting comparisons about what top notch directors choose to do with the time, talent and technological resources.

Pat Ferrucci said...

I have to admit, this is somewhat amazing to me. I've been thinking "Shutter Island" must be bad, only because it's been delayed like 100 times. I would have seen it either way, just based on the director, but this is good to know.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I have no explanation for the delay, unless the studio somehow felt that directing a good old potboiler was somehow beneath the Scorcese pedigree (and would sniffed at dismissively by critics). It is - by no means - a bomb. I can't fathom why it was pushed out to the wasteland of March. If you can appreciate it for what Scorcese intended it to be (namely, an homage to the film noir of the '40's and early '50's) then you'll have a good time. I'm sort of sorry he didn't take the leap and film it in black and white. Anyway, don't expect life-altering cinema, and you won't feel ripped off in the least. Oh, and nobody is blue in this movie. Or needlessly rapes the environment. I bet you love it already.

Anonymous said...

One other thing...apparently the number one movie at the box office this weekend was Valentine's Day, raking in over $52M.

Now, I haven't seen this comedic opus, so perhaps my observations are unfounded, but I'm hoping someone runs the film in slo-mo to see whether or not Ashton Kutcher has three 6's shaved into his head.

Surely, this movie making $52M on its first weekend (hell, this movie making $52M EVER) is one of the signs of the apocalypse.