MMM: Take a Little Trip

For those stargazers who celebrated Thanksgiving over the weekend, I hope it was enjoyable. My holiday trip was full of good food and good times with friends and family. Fresh from that trip, I'm finalizing my plans to head to Atlanta for some geeky goodness. Don't worry, I'll take plenty of pictures to share.

I've also got one more, less fun excursion on the horizon. Trip(s) to local car lots have invaded my future. The wifey's car decided it wasn't ready to travel for the holidays and conked out on her Wednesday evening. At least it didn't leave us stranded on some winding road during the Thanksgiving weekend, but when the ol' girl quit, she quit. It'll cost more to fix her than she's worth so let the fun times begin.

Right now we're looking for the best option to fit our needs. I haven't started having dreams about cars just yet, but before this process is over, I'm sure spinning rims will be dizzying my mind. What better time to choose a love song to cars for the Monday Mood Music?

War - Low Rider

 I'd love to hear any car recommendations or haggling horror stories if you got 'em. Have a great week!

Trailer Trash: The November 24th Quickie

Wow, it feels like I just did one of these... Oh yeah, it's because I did! This week's Trailer Trash has come early thanks to Turkey Day! Everyone has a busy holiday weekend ahead, why not skip the pleasantries and pluck this bird? According to IMDb, here are the four major releases offered up for holiday consumption:


Burlesque If Christina Aguilera wanted to perform with Cher why not just invite her on that mythical tour her fans keep hearing about? I'd easily shell out money to see Cher and/or Christina in concert in lieu of watching this lame flick. Sorry X-Tina, but not even a burlesque number by Kristen Bell can entice me to see your Glitter-ific acting debut. 




Verdict: Exercise the Right to Cinematic Celibacy.

Tangled While I do have a tendency to poo-poo many animated offerings, this one actually plays for me. There is a comforting cadence to the comedic timing which reminds me of my favorite Disney films. Although I keep expecting to hear Nathan Fillion's voice come from the fella's mouth, I'm sure I can deal with that minor disappointment.




Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


Faster Watching Unstoppable last week has me pretty amped for action, so I'll take whatever Hollywood's dishin'. Seeing The Rock kick ass and take names beats Dwayne's cheesin' comedy any day and Billy Bob is overdue for some scenery-chewin'. Factor in my fascination with Carla Gugino and this is a done deal with the promise to be 1,000 times better than Race to Witch Mountain. 



Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation! 

Love and Other Drugs

Hmmm, let's see...

Naked Anne,
Naked Jake,
Viagra.

TICKET PLEASE!




Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!  
 
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Here's to much turkey consumption and much more entertainment this weekend, stargazers. Happy Thanksgiving!

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The Hump: No. 11

MMM: Is That It?

Some songs don't need an exhaustive introduction which is good since I have no time to provide one this week. I was recently reminded of this band at a concert when The Beast covered their tune, Never There. I really get a kick out of this video and I hope you do, too.

Cake - Short Skirt/Long Jacket

Trailer Trash: The November 19th Quickie

I'm ashamed to admit it, but for all my recent buzzing over some of November's new releases, I haven't been to the theater either of the past two weekends.  The DT's are pretty unbearable at this point so I am hoping a potent injection of mainstream movies will bring me down.

According to IMDb, this weekend promises only two major releases, studios opting to instead hold the film flood until Thanksgiving Eve. Luckily these two choices comprise some of the best options stargazers have had for entertainment... and for me to get my fix.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1  The adverts tout "It All Ends Here" except that it doesn't really. This is Part 1, the true end won't satisfy Potheads until July 2011. Nevertheless, this is the beginning of the end to a franchise that has defined a decade of moviegoers. The snippets and characters previewed excite me, though I'm wary it may be as poorly adapted as the Half-Blood Prince. I've never been a huge fan of the films, but at this point in the series, studios can consider my next two tickets boughten.

Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!
       

The Next Three Days Creators picked the perfect title. The overall success of the latest Russell Crowe flick hinges on its box office performance the next three days. The Banks-able magic of his co-star will never be enough to expelliarmus Potter from the top spot, but will their combined mojo even be enough to defeat Megamind or keep Unstoppable's train from pulling into third? Only the next three days will tell.


Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.
 
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A couple of decent selections for the weekend. I'll be playing catch up the next three days and I have more options than I do hours to watch them. Exciting!

The Hump: No. 8

MMM: Radar Phone, Not Red iPhone

Morning stargazers. This week's Monday Mood Music has got to be quick and dirty. I've had to hit the ground running after a four day weekend and I'm not sure when I'll catch my breath.

Since I only have five minutes to get this post out in the world, why not chose a song thought up during a five minute coffee break? Sources say producer Mutt Lange felt Def Leppard's Hysteria album needed one more rockin' tune to help the band attain mass appeal. A few minutes and a cup of coffee later, a song was born. Actually, it took another two weeks to smooth the rough edges and record it. Turned out Mutt was right, Pour Some Sugar On Me was a colossal success and is still considered one of the greatest rock songs of the 80s.

It just goes to show, sometimes a few minutes is all it takes. While I get back to kickin' butt and takin' names, enjoy the UK version of the music video for...

Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me

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Trailer Trash: The November 12th Quickie

Afternoon stargazers. Sorry for such a late Trailer Trash, but I took the day off and have been running around trying to take care of my bidness. We don't have too many major releases today. In fact one flick opened on Wednesday, but that move still only landed it in third place on the daily box office records. Maybe the weekend will treat it more kindly.  Let's have a look see at that Wednesday opener and the two other movies IMDb lists as our freshest choices.


Unstoppable The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Goldeneye, Money Train, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory and the list continues. Now Unstoppable can add its name onto the list of train-centric action flicks. Whether it'll be a good train movie is another thing entirely. It is a chance for Chris Pine to prove he can play a non-Kirk role and joining Denzel & Tony Scott improves his odds. I'm more excited to see Jay Pharoah parody this on SNL tomorrow so all the more reason to see this ASAP. 

Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!
       

Skyline With Eric Balfour and Donald Faison in the lead roles, everyone can at least be excited that anyone can, and probably will, die. Not to knock these fellas; on TV Faison is funny and Balfour plays a douche pretty well, but their film track record isn't too impressive. I'll go see it next weekend if it gets a huge response this weekend or if I can't get into a showing of the new Harry Potter.

Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.
 

Morning Glory (opened 11.10) That's what Harrison calls it when residuals of his little blue pills help jumpstart his morning if ya get my meaning. Ow! Actually, Calista can probably thank some sexy McAdams dream residuals. You did notice all that junk in her trunk, didn't you? Booty aside, this movie looks like such a stinking pile even the trailer attracts flies.



Verdict: Exercise the Right to Cinematic Celibacy.

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That's all they released this week. Well, Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer did get a limited release as well. I didn't give two shits about his scandal then, so why would I pay to hear about it now?

By the way if you did miss it, here's a little bonus bounce for your weekend:

Ba-Dunk-A-Dunk!

The Hump: No. 92

The Reports of my Death...

are greatly exaggerated. However, if there have been reports that I'm an idiot, I plead guilty. A little over a month ago, Reel Whore was being barraged with spam comments (sit and spin you damn, dirty spammers!). Even with word verification, I discovered awkwardly written comments leading to unsavory sites daily.

At first I was simply de-commenting the spam, trying to spare you stargazers from further comment restrictions. Daily de-spamming soon became overwhelming so I turned on comment moderation, which I have used in the past. Apparently, I either forgot to enter my email address into the notification settings or it didn't save the address. Either way, I never received notifications of all my wonderful stargazers' comments. I did notice tonight, over a month later, the link on my Dashboard telling me I had 43 comment awaiting moderation.

I. Am. So. Completely. Stoopid. 

I was so busy with work and prepping for the Week of Reel Whorror throughout October, I just assumed my lack of comments was due to lame/uninteresting postage content. Man, I was way off!

I thank you all for your comments. I want you to know I was not ignoring anyone intentionally, I was just a dumbass. I will be working extra hard tomorrow to allow and reply every single comment. Right now, though, I've got to lash myself for my lameness and send myself to bed without any pudding.

I hope we can still be friends.

MMM: No Day But Today

Morning stargazers! You would think this week's selection would be from one of the albums I scored for my birthday, but it's nowhere close. Fact is both of those artists have already been featured in the Monday Mood Music and I wanted something new.

Today's tune isn't exactly new and it wasn't my immediate choice, but it is stuck in my head. Now it's time to be stuck in yours. The clip below is the opening credits from the 2005 film adaptation of the Broadway musical, Rent. Rent opened in 1996, was a critical success and won the Tony for Best Musical. Fourteen years later this song can now be found gracing a Macy's jewelry ad. I don't think that's what composer Jonathan Larson had in mind for his bohemian ballad. Nevertheless, enjoy the film version of his song, Season of Love.

Seasons of Love (Jonathan Larson)

Tracie Thoms rocks. Have a good one, people.
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FMK Friday: Birthday Beauties

Last week I posted the results of my FMK Halloween edition. Now it's November and time for a spanky new round of Fuck, Marry Kill!

To play I present you, my readers, with three people. You must decide which person you'd like to bed, which you'd wed and which you want dead. It's not always as simple as it sounds.

Welcome to Round 8. Many of you may not know this, but my birthday is this month. In honor of the day I was born, I'll be pitting three lovely actresses who share my birthday against one another. In selecting the contenders I was surprised to have such a large selection of lovely people. Obviously, it was a good day for birthing sexy folk. Although these ladies were beautiful enough to make it to competition, the question remains, who will survive...

Fuck, Marry, Kill

Birthday Beauties

From left to right

Rebecca Romijn; A California girl-turned-model-turned-actress, Rebecca has been ranked on numerous "sexiest women" lists. You'd never guess she's the mother of twins! Her perfect birthday would be a day of thrift store shopping, a meal of filet mignon and Häagen-Dazs, followed by front row tickets to a Dolly Parton concert.

Thandie Newton; Across the pond, Thandie Newton is a dancer-turned-actress and mother of two also featured on a few "sexiest women" lists. If planning a fun birthday for Thandie it should include horseback riding followed by wine and pastries. Being a practical joker, she'd appreciate a bag of gags or you being a good sport when she pranks you. 

Emma Stone; Despite being the youngest contender, Emma is no stranger to "sexiest women" lists." Whether it's a tasty Mexican place or Morton's, you'll make her birthday a blast by ordering the spinach dip (get your own if you want any!). Put a cherry on top by curling up on the couch with marshmallow sundaes and a DVD of SNL - Best of Gilda Radner.


You may want to remember those gift ideas in case you need to make amends for your vote! Round 8 will run until November 24th. That gives you almost three weeks to decide which birthday beauty is top on your own personal "sexiest" list

Choose wisely.
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Trailer Trash: The November 5th Quickie

November is here and so comes the flood of fall films. Comedies, dramas, romances, thrillers varying from potential award winners to pathetic attempts to hustle audiences out of their money. To kick off the month, IMDb says we have three major releases and two limited offerings to pique our interest. It's a mixed bag, but let's see if there's something for everyone.


 Megamind Moviegoers want to ogle Brad Pitt, not hear him. Tina Fey is funniest when her awkward gestures and facial expressions enhance her dialogue. Will Ferrell's man-child shtick is hilarious due to his physicality. Will these qualities translate into animation? Pfft! I'll surely catch a glimpse of this by Thanksgiving 2011 on HBO before I flip the channel to something actually entertaining.


Verdict: Exercise the Right to Cinematic Celibacy.
       

For Colored Girls An excellent trailer; intriguing, but barely reveals the story. However, this was rushed to get a award-season release. It is also helmed by Tyler Perry, a director not known for quality. I am hopeful the quality of the source material combined with the high caliber of actresses involved will make this more tolerable than Perry's usual fare.




Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.
 

Due Date The first trailers weren't too impressive and after a couple hundred promos, I'm getting only mildly funny tingles. RDJ and Jamie Foxx are funny guys capable of serious performances and with Zach G's brand of silliness on the rise, this could have the potential hilarity of Old School. Still, I prefer to be cautiously optimistic about this comedy.




Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


127 Hours A lot of folks are not interested in this true-events inspired story, worrying it'll be slow. Luckily, James Franco isn't too hard on the eyes and director Danny Boyle can captivate audiences with any idea. Hell, if I were tasked to produce Idiocracy's #1 movie "Ass," which will win eight Oscars by featuring nothing but butt for 90 minutes, Boyle would be my first choice to direct. 


Verdict: Moist With Antici...Pation!



Fair Game I thought this was a re-release of 2005's The Interpreter in the hopes it'd make more money this time around. However, this stars Naomi Watts, not Nicole Kidman, and should be much more tolerable. Fair Game's timing couldn't be worse; coming off election week, my guess is audiences couldn't care less about a Bush-era political thriller. 



Verdict: It's Friday, I Don't Want to be Alone.


Stick around. Later today I'll be posting new FMK Friday and you will want to be sure you get your vote in for this one! Have a good weekend at the movies; I know I will.

The Hump: No. 80

RW Quarterly, Vol. III - Issue 3

Any whore worth his salt knows you have to step back from the daily grind now and again to do a little bookkeeping. The Reel Whore Quarterly indexes all the films I've seen over the last 3 months.



 
Every review I've posted is linked. Films italicized in blue are in the review queue so be sure to check back for those. If a film below deserves a whore-treatment but isn't slated to receive it, request it!


You may notice something a little different about this quarterly edition. If you guessed it's being posted over a month later than usual, that's a bingo! I remembered the quarterly was overdue weeks ago, but I've had a time trying to find time to squeeze in the update. Considering there was no uproar from the masses, I assume it was not missed.

As I reflect on the third quarter of 2010, I am surprised I reviewed more films than originally thought. I watched 32 films this quarter (July through September), a personal worst for me in a long time, but of those I reviewed 13. Having reviewed all 32 films would look much more impressive, but one must have a goal to strive for.

I'm hoping to see a huge upswing during these last two months of 2010.  I've already amassed over a dozen viewings thanks to the influx of zombie flix this past month. While I still find comfort in the warm glow of my television, I anticipate some worthy award contenders to draw me back into the dark of the matinee.

If you see an unreviewed film below that you want my opinion on, please call my attention to it. I've been hellalame about honoring requests this year, but honestly, I am trying to do better.

The Reel Whore's Movies Watched
July 1 to September 30, 2010

85. Whip It
86. Avatar: The Last Airbender
87. From Paris with Love
88. The Burbs
89. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work
90. Predators
91. Splice
92. Horsemen
93. Blood and Bone
94. Inception
95. Heavenly Creatures
96. Sorcerer's Apprentice
97. Exiled
98. Salt
99. Get Him to the Greek
100. How to Train Your Dragon
101. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
102. Cyrus
103. Winter's Bone
104. Dinner for Schmucks
105. The Other Guys
106. The Kids Are All Right
107. The Expendables
108. Brooklyn's Finest
109. Eat Pray Love
110. The Switch
111. Defendor
112. The Girl Who Played with Fire
113. Pirahna
114. Machete
115. Get Low
116. You Again

* Movies in Blue are currently in my review queue.

MMM: Fitting Choice

Welcome to November stargazers. After a week of zombies, I'm a little brain-dead. So much so that I decided to leave this Monday Mood Music selection completely up to chance. I woke up, flipped on my pod, hit shuffle and whatever song first played was what you get.

As if the pod somehow read my mind, the tune that you get today is That's What You Get by Paramore. Kinda spooky right? At the very least, it's one hell of a coincidence that the song title fit so well.

I've mentioned before Paramore gives great concert. In fact, they were one of the best shows I saw during the 2010 summer. Considering how chilly-willy it is here today, remembering that 100+ degree evening isn't such a bad thing. While I reminisce about warmer days, you can enjoy this Franklin, Tennessee band's music.

Paramore - That's What You Get

Have a good one.

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