Mego’s blog

My favorite gifts of the Holiday Season

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:42:58 -0800

Every season, I struggle to find unique items to give to people. Usually, I try to relate my gifts to pop culture (since my family, too, is obsessed with movies, television, and music just like me).

This year, I have three favorite gift ideas.

One, is the Tauntaun sleeping bag from ThinkGeek. Remember when Han Solo cut open the Tauntaun so Luke Skywalker could keep warm? This gift is a play on that! I read an article in New York Times Magazine that said this gift was actually a joke gift at first and then so many people demanded it that it became "real."

Tauntaun warmth action

Second, is "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" towel creation (with a not-safe-for-work-or-perhaps-anyone video). I've decided not to include an image so I don't get removed from Vox. However, if you've ever watched "Sunny," you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Third, is the "I'm with Hostage" tee from Jetpack Agenda.

Patty Hearst would be proud

While I'm rather partial to this web site, I love that this tee combines the classic "I'm with Stupid" with a crisis situation. Because often times, it is a crisis to be with someone stupid.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Hollywood ruins anything classic

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 09:02:41 -0800

Still on my holiday movie kick, I started watching 1945's Christmas in Connecticut, starring Barbara Stanwyck.

CHRISTMAS IN CONNECTICUT TRAILER 1945 BARBARA STANWYCK

I was immediately struck by the great premise. A writer has a column about food and life in her country home in Connecticut when really she's a single gal writing from her cramped apartment in New York City. However, when a sailor returns from the War with wishes to have a Christmas in Connecticut, the writer must fake a life in order to keep her job (she even "adopts" a baby!).

What a classic story! I immediately thought to myself, "I'm surprised Hollywood hasn't ruined this yet with a remake."

And lo and behold, Jennifer Garner is in talks for a redo according to IMDB. This made me cringe. Jennifer Garner is likeable enough (in my opinion, her best role to date was Juno), but for some reason with this remake I picture talk about Blackberry phones and Martha Stewart over a soundtrack that consists of Duffy.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

I'll watch K. Chen in anything

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:43:30 -0800

In my channel surfing, I occasionally land on the Lifetime network (mostly for their "Will & Grace" reruns). While they usually have the run-of-the-mill chick flick crap around the holidays, I was pleasantly surprised to see a commercial for 12 Men of Christmas starring Kristin Chenoweth.

"12 Men of Christmas" Preview

After having watched the movie, I think it's safe to say I will watch Kristin Chenoweth doing her laundry at this point. The girl can do no wrong. She has a fabulous voice, she's naturally hilarious, and she's too cute to boot. While the story is predictable (a fish-out-of-water, city girl moves to the country farce), it's mainly pure fun and Chenoweth makes it so.

Pure cheese, but good cheese -- the best Lifetime has to offer this holiday season.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Jake Gyllenhaal: A Yinzer?

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:49:30 -0800

Jake Gyllenhaal was recently on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" and showed off his new Steelers tat (I'm pretty sure it's fake). He's been in Pittsburgh for the past three months filming Love and Other Drugs.

Jake Gyllenhaal on Jimmy Kimmel Live PART 1

I still have my Post-Gazette map of where the star had been spotted, and ironically enough, he was hanging around in gay-friendly Shadyside (so much for extinguishing those gay rumors with a romance with Reese Witherspoon).

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Target hits it on the mark

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:45:04 -0800

The Christmas season is in full swing, and I have a favorite Christmas commercial already, which comes from Target.

There are a slew of other holiday ads, all of which are great. I like this one because it reminds me of me as a kid. Anytime I would get something I thought was expensive, I would tell my mother I didn't deserve it and that we didn't have the money to throw around.

I also really enjoy this ad.

And to cap off all of these commercials, they end with the super-soft, mellow voice of Ella Fitzgerald. Love it.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

"That's a dealbreaker, ladies!"

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:11:42 -0800

I was really hoping that this Christmas NBC would release a "real" book by "30 Rock's" Liz Lemon called Dealbreakers. Instead, they just created a real fake web site to not buy said fake book.

I would totally read this

I feel like there's a real missed opportunity here. Years ago, NBC's "Passions" released a book that tied in with the show. ABC's "Lost" did the same with Bad Twin. And just this season, "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" came out with a "Dick Towel" that tied in with an episode on the show. This particular product is so popular that it's on back order (or at least my purchase is!).

Perhaps NBC wasn't allowed to come out with a book called Dealbreakers because there is already a book that has the same title. I'm curious as to what the dealbreakers in this book are. I doubt there's "If he's over 30 and still wears a name tag at his job, THAT's a dealbreaker!"

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

'An Education' in Disappointment

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 10:04:25 -0800

I haven't been able to bring myself to write about the movie An Education because I wanted to collect all of my thoughts and deliver a decent defense. The film, directed by Lone Scherfig, is about a teenage girl who meets an older man in 1960's England. It's receiving rave reviews across the board. If you go to Rotten Tomatoes, it's currently at a 94% (and will likely stop there).

I would just like to preface this post by saying I wanted to see this movie. I was dying to see this film.

An Education Official Trailer

However, as I was watching An Education last weekend, I realized in the middle of it that I didn't really like it. The movie needed a killer ending in order for me to appreciate it and that ending never came (as you will see in my points of reference below). Like any good school girl, I created a little outline after I went to see the film, pinpointing all of the things I questioned, specifically why this movie is getting Oscar buzz.

*Spoilers*

1. Conventional, cliche-ridden story and script. I know this film is based on a memoir, but because it's a memoir, I feel like this should be different from any story I've ever seen. On the contrary, I feel like this story is something I've seen so many times before. How many times do we need to see a young girl get clobbered by an older man? (Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants [yes, I know], Blue Car, Mystic Pizza, any 1980's made-for-television movie). This storyline has been done to death.

Plus, I was gravely disappointed with Nick Hornby's script (David to Jenny's mom: "You never told me you had a sister?"). I silently groaned when I heard this.

2. Romanticizes Statutory Rape. None of the scenes where Jenny and David are together appear romantic, more creepy than anything. She's 16, he's in his early 30's. Neither one of the parents are concerned about this??? Even though the age of consent in England is different than in the states, the whole situation still feels icky.

3. Bad film editing. In one scene, David and Danny (Dominic Cooper) are in the front seat of a car together. In the next scene as the car pulls up to a house, Jenny and David are in the front seat together.

4. The film takes no risks. The crux of the story revolves around Jenny waiting until her 17th birthday to lose her virginity to David. In one scene, he asks just to get a peek at her. She drops her top and you only see her shoulders. I feel like nudity probably would have been helpful in this scene (and I RARELY say this!) because it would have shown her vulnerability. And when the actual sex takes place, you only see the afterglow, with Jenny smoking out on a balcony and talking about it.

5. Terrible character development. I feel like I literally know nothing about Jenny other than she likes jazz and wants to get laid when she turns 17. Parents also have terrible development. Dad is all about Oxford, then switches opinion to being all about David once Jenny is engaged. Why? The only affecting performance to me is one from Sally Hawkins, as David's wife who lives around the corner from Jenny.

6. Carey Mulligan next Audrey Hepburn? Don't get me wrong -- Mulligan is adorable, but I wasn't floored. I didn't get an Audrey Hepburn vibe at all. If anything, I got a Keira Knightley vibe.

7. Should have focused more on the "Education" debate. At one point in the film, I assumed they would delve into this more. Mulligan has one really good scene where she speaks with fervor about why an education isn't necessarily vital. In the end, she goes back to school and goes against what she said. I feel like the film just ends with this idea and doesn't justify people who succeed and don't go to Oxford.

8. Lackluster ending. "What is this? The f-ing Gilmore Girls?" I said to myself in a crowded theatre. Jenny drops out of school to marry David, only to discover he's already married. When she decides to go back to school, the headmaster Emma Thompson does not accept her so Jenny goes to one of her teachers and asks for help. Then, there's a montage of her studying, and then she gets accepted into Oxford. Just not enough justification for dropping out of school. How did she get in? No explanation.

I have been called a movie snob many times over, but I just did not care for this film. And I had no misgivings going into it. I thought it would be great! Turns out, the one thing I really enjoyed was the music. I can usually nurture one or two suspension of disbeliefs in a movie (for example, Tom's precocious sister in 500 Days of Summer). But there were just too many to count in this one.

On a final note, I'm glad I took notes on this film because next week at this time, I will not remember anything about it.

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Happy Birthday, Woody Allen!

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:17:37 -0800

In honor of the Woodman's birthday (he turns 74 today!).

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Who's blackmailing Letterman now???

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 10:26:23 -0800

Awards Daily posted a clip from David Letterman on their site and apparently Letterman thinks that Brothers is one of the best films from the past 10 years.

I know my friend JoeyMose might disagree with me, but I'm not buying it. I value Letterman's opinion like I value Larry King's (who endorsed The Fourth Kind). I still will probably see this movie, but not because a Late Show host liked it. What's next? Jimmy Fallon thinks Old Dogs is the greatest movie of the last year?

Also, Letterman's credibility is out the window once he says "Kobe Bryant" instead of "Tobey Maguire."

Read and post comments | Send to a friend

2009: Not a great year for movies

nobody@vox.com(Mego) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 07:53:49 -0800

Just this morning, I was hanging around Awards Daily -- the web site dedicated to the Oscar roundup for the year -- and I took a poll as to what will be nominated for the National Board of Review. When I clicked in the drop-down box to vote, I realized there aren't many great movies from 2009.

Some of the National Board contenders included Box Office disasters like Amelia, future Box Office disasters like Avatar, disappointments like Funny People, and "coming to the Lifetime network" Brothers.

Avatar Movie Trailer [HD]

Now, I can't predict what Brothers or Avatar will do at the Box Office (although, clearly I just tried to), but usually at this stage in the game we kinda have an idea of what's going to be nominated for the Golden Globes as well as the Oscars. This year, with the ten Oscar Best Picture contenders, it's anybody's bag.

So far, my favorite movies of the year include 500 Days of Summer, Precious, Where the Wild Things Are, and The Hurt Locker. However, I have yet to have seen some of the big contenders on the list (An Education, A Serious Man, A Single Man), so my list will probably change.

This is what I will be dreaming about when I'm napping from all the tryptophan tomorrow. Happy Thanksgiving!

Read and post comments | Send to a friend