In Case You Were Wondering…

Numbers for kiddie movies are up, up, up...

There are so many animated movies because they mean major mula for studios. Just look at these numbers for over the weekend- Disney’s “Bolt” has already pulled in roughly $80 million, while Madagascar 2 has surpassed Bond-heavy Quantum of Solace with a $160 million haul.

A quick look at Apple.com Trailers and we see a new “Ice Age” is on the horizon, along with Matthew Broderick’s “The Tale of Despereaux”, Dreamworks’ “Monsters Vs. Aliens” as well as the teaser for Pixar’s latest “Up”, which isn’t due to hit theaters until May.

A Little Light Driving-Reading

On Sunday, I spent approximately 14 hours driving a rented Chevy HHR and I assume one of those H’s stands for “hearse” because that’s precisely what Chevy’s version of a station wagon looks like. Or maybe that’s just how I was feeling after driving through a steady stream of rain for the world’s longest day.

Regardless, for a drive like that you have to be prepared. On the way from Chicago to New York, I counted down by CD’s, each mix standing as an hour. On the way back to Chicago, it was five new mixes and David Sedaris’ latest collection of stories When You Are Engulfed in Flames.

When picking an audio tape, the reader’s voice is crucial in my opinion and Sedaris’, thanks to his contributions to public radio, is thankfully familiar.  Like his past, best-selling efforts, Flames is filled with the regulars in Sedaris’ life- his parents, sisters and brother, boyfriend (manfriend?) Hugh, and a few random characters he encounters both as a, I have to say it, precocious, exacting child and an equally precocious grown man- cab drivers, baby-sitters, neighbors, people he sits next to on airplanes… encounters we all have time and again. We just lack Sedaris’ ability to frame them so well in the retelling.

I returned home and collected the mail that I had placed on hold. A few dozen catalogues that have little relevance to my life, unless I suddenly start collecting Native American spiritual wall calendars, some bills, a few magazines and a bulky package that can only be a personal present, the best time of mail. I ripped open the envelope to find a note from my oldest, dearest friend and, what do you know, an autographed copy of the same book I’d just enjoyed listening to for 8 hours. Great minds, huh?

Four Christmases Claims Top Spot

And all this despite the fact that I’m not even sure “Christmases” is a real word. Every time I stare at the title for more than a second I find myself in a strange netherworld between candy shops spelled “Shoppe” and cleaning products with the  words “EZ in the title.” I don’t know what any of this means. I’m very tired.

I am, however, happy to see Reese Witherspoon continue her reign of terror on the box office ($46.1 haul so far). Class, beauty and brains in a leading lady is greatly appreciated these days.

Holiday Music

This morning I’m going to do you a solid and assist you with all of your holiday music needs. Because, quite frankly, I’m already really tired of hearing the same John Lennon-Karen Carpenter-Perry Como loop they play on the radio. My parents listen to only one radio station between Thanksgiving and the Big Day and after two days, I wanted to shove stuffing into my ears and cry.

Finetune– If you haven’t already created a Finetune account, you should. The music site lets you create playlists from their extensive library (search Elton John and you’ll see pretty much every single one of his albums), 45 songs minimum, but the computer quality is excellent and they recently added a snazzy, free iPhone application which means you can have music wherever you go too. Check out a number of Holiday playlists submitted by doting fans (Christmas Soul, Christmas Pop, Christmas Rock, Hanukkah too!) and with the number of tracks reaching into the hundreds, it’ll be a while before you hear some repeats. Or, save a few iTunes bucks, and create your own perfect holiday playlist. For free.

Pandora– I’ve had my Holiday Standards station for so long, I had to remind myself how I create it. It’s easy actually. You can either click on Pandora’s prepared Holiday station or create your own! Simply search for a specific holiday song when you create a station and Pandora will take care of the rest. My Ella Fitzgerald version of “Frosty the Snowman” gave me a personalized station with holiday favorites from Sinatra, Dean Martin, Bing Crosby, The Ronettes, etc.

Friday Night Lights

I am not a football fan. Indeed, I would probably rather do a number of cringe-worthy things when faced with the option of sitting through an entire football game- like watch a marathon of Last Call With Carson Daly or cook liver and then eat it or walk through one of those wild bird atriums (ok, maybe not. I really am terrified of birds).

So no one was more surprised than I was when, two years ago, I reluctantly agreed to give the show “Friday Night Lights” a try and then fell so hard for it, so head over heels in love with it, that NBC’s decision to float the ratings-challenged show over to DirectTV left me heartbroken, standing on my front lawn next to my Dillon Panthers sign, football helmut in hand, single tear. My heart will remain in Dillon, TX until the show returns to network television in 2009.

Until then, I implore you to the give the show a try. You can watch all of seasons 1 & 2 for free on Hulu.com (it’s FREE- can’t beat that). Better yet, rent Season 1 on Netflix or Blockbuster and treat yourself to a marathon viewing. I am so positive that you’ll enjoy it that I will REIMBURSE you for the rental fee if you aren’t immediately emotionally invested in Coach Taylor, his boys and the women who love them. I will then use my unemployment money to fly to your house and sit in your living room and demand to know exactly how you failed to fall in love with these characters. Characters like Matt Saracen, the sweet-eyed quiet kid next door who’s saddled with a missing mom, a dad in Iraq and caring for his senile grandma, surviving high school, a part-time job, falling in love with the coach’s daughter and now facing the daunting task of going from second-string nobody to taking over as quarterback after superstar Jason Street becomes paralyzed from the waist down. Did I mention that high school football is pretty much the lifeblood of their small town and the crushing, absolutely mind-blowing pressure of blowing even a single game?

I don’t really think there’s anything left to say. Except please save “Friday Night Lights.” I’ll be your best friend.

From Page to Screen

Stephenie Meyer becomes the latest in the teen-fantasy-book-turned-phenomenon, um, phenomenon to see her characters brought to life on the big screen. Twilight, based on Meyer’s first novel in the “girl falls in love with vampire” series, opens in theaters on Friday, November 21.

Fans of the book, myself included, are thrilled that the released date was bumped up but for a disappointing reason- it means the newest Harry Potter flick won’t appear until next summer. Oh, well- guess we’re just going to have to settle for a couple of broody vamps.

Review the book AND the movie on Culture Clique.

I Refuse to Say “Dropped”

Just released today, this freezing cold (at least here in Chicago) Tuesday in November…

American Idol winner David Cook’s debut album of the same name. I have to admit, I’ve never really gotten into Idol but a gazillion devoted, screaming fans can’t be wrong. (If you listen carefully, an indie music critic just dropped dead somewhere as I wrote that. Clap your hands if you believe…)

You can listen to the full CD for free here. Buy it here. Review it on Culture Clique.

Say what you will about Beyonce’s decision to join a long line of music alter egos (remember Garth Brooks’ Chris Gaines phase?), every time I hear the words “I am Sasha Fierce” I can’t help but smile.

Like her release buddy David Cook, you can listen to every track for free here. Buy it here. And don’t forget to review it on Culture Clique.

Kanye West debuts his fourth album, 808s and Heartbreak, today. Because his egotastical personality makes me cringe and hide, I’m providing Amazon’s words on the release instead of my own- The ten-time Grammy Award® winning musical phenomenon, rapper, producer, and now singer embarks on a new musical journey taking his audience to new heights.
Preview Kanye’s latest tracks here, where you can also immediately purchase it and then review it on Culture Clique. Please.

Quantum of Solace Could Use a Little Solace

It seems Bond may have made a few missteps.

I haven’t seen his latest adventure, Quantum of Solace, which was released in theaters on Friday but the early take (ie from the two people I know who have seen it and a smattering of mixed press) is that it isn’t quite worth the $12 ticket price.

Not that the studio heads will mind much if that $70 million dollar haul over the weekend is an indicator of the film’s box office power. Still, the mixed reviews (too much action, too fast, not enough dialogue, weak plot) are disappointing.

See the movie? Have a different take? Check out the reviews at Culture Clique and submit your own.

John Cusack

There’s a line in High Fidelity that is just perfect for this essay. Barry (Jack Black) is musing about Stevie Wonder’s awful pop-tastic contributions over the last twenty years and ponders, “Is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins- is it better to burn out or fade away?”

After catching Must Love Dogs on cable over the weekend, the question pops up again and once I realized the irony of turning it onto Cusack himself, I had no choice but to put it on paper and see what I got.

John Cusack is the reason I’m still single, I’m 97% sure of it. There should be a warning label on the cover of every available copy of Say Anything… and it should read “Do not watch if under the age of 16 and/or Impressionable to the Point of Romantic Disability”. How was I supposed to know, at the tender age of 12, that Lloyd Dobler not only had no plans to ditch Diane Court and come knocking on my door anytime soon, but that centuries of white male domination, Maxim magazine and monster truck rallies had pretty much insured against him even existing at all?

You get older and you wise up… but there’s Cameron Crowe still lurking in the background, taunting you with Patrick Fugit in Almost Famous (Cusack 2.0 as he’s known in my brain- if you’ve ever seen Saved! and you too think he’s, like, totally adorable, you know what I mean) and Cusack sneaking back every so often, dropping Grosse Point Blank and High Fidelity and Pushing Tin into your lap