stella117

I'm newly addicted to the sci-fi series compliments of its playing on BBC America ( that channel has also got me hooked on the British version of "Being Human" ). We're up to season four now and I'm totally engrossed in the tale of the 30+ thousand survivors of the Cyclon wars searching for Earth. But this post isn't about Starbuck, Apollo, Admiral Adama or President Roslin. It's about this commercial for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter: Does the narrator's voice sound familiar to you? I... Read Full Story

Despite the low Rotten Tomatoes rating, this flick ended up as a Best Picture nominee--so of course I had to see it. The movie is about Oskar Schell ( who may or may not have Asperger's or autism ) and his journey to find what the key found in his beloved dead father's personal effects unlocks. The close-to-saintly dad is played by the eminently likeable Tom Hanks and his death in the World Trade Center collapse on 9/11 already is a set up for tugged heartstrings ( Note to self: Bring TISSUES... Read Full Story

2012 marks the end of the Mayan calendar and I appropriately rang in the new year watching a marathon of The Walking Dead. Okay, I'm not one to put stock in apocalyptic superstitions -- after all, by all accounts the world was supposed to end in the year 1000 according to Rodulfus Glaber, in 1843 according to William Miller, in 2000 ( according to Prince... ), twice in 2011 according to Harold Camping and now in 2012 according to the Mayans ( although to be fair, they weren't accurate in... Read Full Story

Upon the recommendation of Martin as well as its nomination for Best Picture, I went to see Hugo. I would have preferred the 2D version as I find 3D to be gimmicky and intrusive, but 3D was pretty much my only option. The 3D glasses needed to be in place for the trailers because they were all for 3D movies. I've no interest in seeing a mustachioed Lorax popping out of the screen, but I have to say the 3D effects for Titanic looked pretty spectacular. Speaking of looks, that's something Hugo... Read Full Story

When I heard that J.J. Abrams, creator of LOST, was executive producing this new series, I immediately scheduled it on my DVR. Of course, there will be many drawing parallels to the intensely-dissected cult favorite--after all, the show is also set on an island, operating under mysterious circumstances including possible time travel and features Jorges Garcia ( formerly "Hugo/Hurley" ) as one of its stars. But so far the new series appears to be a fairly standard crime procedural drama with... Read Full Story

Although this movie purports to be about the relationship between Drs. Freud vs. Jung, it's more accurately a story of Jung's illicit relationship with one of his patients who went on to become a noted psychoanalyst in her own right. Keira Knightley the initially damaged Sabina Spielrein who is healed by Jung's application of "The Talking Cure" ( the stage play on which the movie was based ), a method proposed by Dr. Sigmund Freud. Knightley has received mixed reviews for her performance, but... Read Full Story

2011 was a fairly ho-hum year for films as far as I'm concerned. I only saw 23 releases which is well under my usual average. Frankly, I just couldn't be bothered. Many of the films I chose to see were praised by critics but left me feeling "meh." I still have a handful of 2011 films to see ( The Artist, A Dangerous Method ) and there were a few I decided to skip ( Bridesmaids ), but I'm hoping 2012 will be better than the lackluster 2011 as far as movies are concerned. My top 10 in no... Read Full Story

Given the stellar cast of this adaptation of the John le Carre novel, it definitely made my list of must-see movies. It's interesting to break down just how many of the actors in this spy thriller were also in the Harry Potter series: Gary Oldman ( Sirius Black ), John Hurt ( Ollivander ), Toby Jones ( voice of Dobby ), Ciaran Hinds ( Aberforth Dumbledore ) and Simon McBurney ( voice of Kreacher ). Of course it'd probably be more significant to have a list of British actors who HAVEN'T been... Read Full Story

This week seems to be one of endings, but the finale that saddened me most was the halt to the 4+ decade long run of the ABC daytime drama, One Life to Live. I can't remember when I began watching OLTL. It was some time around Judith Light's infamous courtroom breakdown scene and the reappearance of slain sleazeball Marco Dane in the form of his here-to-fore unknown twin brother, Dr. Mario Correlli. One Life to Live went to the twin well fairly often. I'm not sure if there was an instance... Read Full Story

Apologies for leaving this blog to sit dormant for so long but I was otherwise occupied for a while. Given that I'm not at the current moment ( don't you love the cryptic-ness? ), I've decided to get back to blogging. It's not like I have anything better to do. Oh by way, anyone know any companies in need of an SEO Analyst, Content Manager, Copy Writer/Editor, Blogger, etc.? Read Full Story