Well, at least Shaw’s isn’t this clueless. According to a New York blogger named NancyKay Shapiro, the supermarket Balducci’s is displaying ham as “Delicious for Chanukah.” Next thing you know, they’ll be featuring matzah and saying it’s “Perfect for Easter.”
(Thanks to Farrah for the tip.)
Because I have nothing better to do, I’ve been doing a bit of thinking lately trying to decide what the worst thing about winter is.
Is it the bitter cold temperatures, and the winds that seem to make it even colder, and the fact that it seems to become cold right away without a slow drop in temperature?
Is it the iced up sidewalks that taunt me and almost dare me to walk on them and not fall? I include the parking lot outside my building, which I have no choice but to cross every day if I want to go somewhere; half of it is a sheet of ice right now.
Is it the over-crowded and less frequent T cars? Every year, same old story.
Is it dangling on the edge of being sick, and trying ever-so-hard not to catch a cold from everyone around me who seems to have something already.
Is it the fact that everyone’s so bundled up that they look almost unfriendly and unapproachable?
Is it not wanting to go outside to do stuff because it’s so much nicer on my couch in my warm apartment?
It may actually be a tie between all of those things. Winter just really sucks. There’s absolutely nothing good about this time of year (other than the holidays, of course). Brrrrrrrrrr…!
I was thinking about the best way to observe Hanukkah on the blog, and I decided that the most appropriate thing would be to write a post and see if it, too, could last for eight days. So here goes. I hope you enjoy it. Now go put on a yarmulke, tell your friends Monica and Veronica, and rock out on your harmonica while you listen to the LeeVees or Adam Sandler’s “Chanukah Song.” Whatever you do, I hope you have a happy, happy, happy, happy Hanukkah!
(And don’t worry, I’ll be back with new posts real soon. I’m not really taking an eight-day vacation.)
If you enjoyed the raunchy unplanned-pregnancy comedy Knocked Up earlier this year but wished it was a little bit sweeter, then Juno is the movie for you.
It’s the very funny story of a sardonic high school girl (Ellen Page) in Minnesota who gets bored, has sex with her awkward best friend (Michael Cera), and then finds herself pregnant. (Oops!)
Not ready to deal with being a mother (and an adult), Juno decides to give the baby to a seemingly perfect couple (Jason Bateman and Jennifer Garner) she finds in, of all places, the Pennysaver.
Alright, so maybe that summary does a disservice to the movie.
In actuality, Juno is one of those quirky little films that packs in a lot of laughs and a lot of heart, and announces the arrival of an original new voice and a great young actress (it’s sort of like this year’s Little Miss Sunshine). That’s the hype you’ll be hearing from now until the Oscars, but it’s actually true and well-deserved.
The writer is Diablo Cody (a former stripper making her screenwriting debut here), and she has crafted a screenplay that is so packed with laughs and strong characters that it reminded me of Napoleon Dynamite in that every other line is quotable and hysterical.
And Ellen Page (who was in, among other things, the third X-Men movie) plays Juno confidently, but as the character begins to learn more about herself and the people around her, she becomes more and more endearing. I’m sure we all can remember a person from high school who acted like and thought they had everything all figured out, but really was very unsure of him/herself. That’s Juno, and Page captures all of that uncertainty in a star-making performance.
Both women will be Oscar-nominated for sure.
Of course, there are other folks in this movie, and it’s worth noting that my girl, Jennifer Garner, also acquits herself quite well. She and Bateman (reteaming again after The Kingdom) are at first the perfect adoptive parents — so perfect they’re quite scary — but as with Juno, beneath the surface they are not what they seem.
Michael Cera is more awkward here than he was in Superbad — just check out those shorts — but he, too, is sweet and endearing. And Rainn Wilson (from The Office) makes a brief appearance early on and utters what will likely be the film’s most quoted line, “That’s one doodle that can’t be undid, homeskillet.”
I suppose it’d be wrong to overlook director Jason Reitman’s work here because a good screenplay is only half or a third of what makes a movie great. But Juno‘s screenplay is so good, so quotable, so original, so funny, so winning, so clever, and so dominant here that it’s impossible to really notice anything else. It’s that tandem of great words and a perfectly-cast actress that makes Junoa real must-see.
I’m giving it an A–.
In one week you will know what made the cut for A Very Marty Xmas 2007. For now, I just thought I’d hype up the mix a little. I’m real happy with the finished product and can’t wait for you all to hear it. Now, if only I could figure out how to make multiple copies on my Mac without using iTunes. Anybody know?
Finally got around to seeing Bee Movie today. Not much to say about it, other than that it’s a very cute, very colorful, but otherwise pretty average animated flick. It’s certainly no Pixar film. Still, it tries hard to be likable and the animation is good. I say if you haven’t already, then take the kids. Otherwise, no big deal. I’m giving this one a bee-minus — ahem, a B–.
Martin's Musings 