Since I haven’t been blogging regularly since about August, I’ve seen a lot of movies that have not been properly reviewed. I probably won’t have the time to do so, or, by the time I do have a chance, I will not remember enough about them to give honest reviews. So here’s a movie review brief.
The Ladykillers – Tom Hanks leads a small band of criminals in a bank heist by conning an old woman who lives near the bank. Weird, quirky, darker than you’d think. Hanks does a pretty good job of playing a slimy bad guy. 2 grins

Being John Malkovich – John Cusack plays a frustrated puppeteer who gets a dull clerical job in an office with four-foot high ceilings. He finds a mysterious opening behind a file cabinet that leads into actor John Malkovich’s brain. It’s even weirder than it sounds. Still, I like weird, so I enjoyed this one. 2 grins

Seven Years in Tibet – Brad Pit plays a self-absorbed Austrian mountaineer, caught in the Himilayas at the outbreak of World War II. He escapes a British prison camp and stumbles into a forbidden Tibetan city, the home of the Dalai Lama. The story is well written and well acted. If you can stomach a heavy dose of Hollywood pacifism, it’s a good movie. P.S. Brad Pit can’t do accents. 3 grins

The Sixth Sense – M. Night Shyamalan’s creep show about a boy who sees dead people. I’d seen the last half of this show on cable, so knowing the surprise ending made the first half more interesting. Otherwise, it’d be a really slow, boring movie. 2 grins

Bewitched – Very clever story is not a remake of the TV series. Instead it’s a movie about the making of a remake of the TV series. Nicole Kidman is brilliant as Isabel, cast to play Samantha and Will Ferrell is equally brilliant as the Hollywood narcissist Jack, cast to play Darrin. Great, fun movie. 4 grins

Brothers Grimm – A good, scary, well acted fairy tale. Two brothers who make a living as Elizabethan era ghost busters slash con men find themselves caught up in a real live ghost story with a real live wicked witch. 3 grins

Hotel Rwanda – I watched this one on my computer while working in the wee hours, pausing it to write code, and watching it during builds. Don Cheadle plays a prim and proper manager of a five star hotel in Rwanda during the Tutsi/Hutu “ethnic clensing”. Cheadle plays the character brilliantly as he struggles to cling to normalcy but ends up housing refugees in his high-dollar hotel and bribing the authorities to keep the refugees alive. The fact that this is a true story makes it even more fascinating to watch. 3 grins

I’d nearly forgotten about my new poll feature! So, let me know how you really feel.

Let me be the first to wish you all a satisfactory non-denominational, capitalist, winter-time, gift-giving season.

Once again, there is a lot of hubbub over whether or not retailers use “Christmas” in their marketing. Last year the pendulum seemed to hit the far left and was pushed back to the right. “Holiday Trees”? Seriously, that’s just dumb. But a few Christian organizations continue to push this year. Is it really necessary?

You guys know that I’m pretty far out on the “Religious Right” end of spectrum, but I like to think that I can still use my head and be reasonable. I’m on the mailing list of the American Family Association. They’re about as for right as you can get and sometimes, they go farther than I am willing to follow. Today the AFA invited me to vote in a poll, “Would you be willing to boycott stores which refuse to allow the word “Christmas” to be displayed?” I voted “No.”

I am willing to boycott companies, but there has to be a very solid reason and I need to see evidence from more than one source. I prefer to avoid Wal-Mart because I believe that their business practices are damaging to the economy and empowering China. I will not buy any Ford products because Ford is currently spending millions to further the homosexual agenda. (Yes, I own a Ford that I bought used, ten years ago. But Ford makes no money off of me. I buy after-market parts and never go to a Ford mechanic.)

But what about “Holiday” retailers? Well, honestly, this is the holiday season. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years are all part of the holiday shopping season. Yes, most of our money goes toward Christmas gifts, but what about Hanukah (or Hanukkah, or Chanukah, or Ckhanukhkhahh or how ever you spell it.) It’s a valid, gift-giving, religious holiday. What about Ramadan? What about the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe? What about Eat A Red Apple Day or Ice Cream and Violins Day or National Chocolate Covered Anything Day? (Seriously.)

I’m not trying to belittle Christmas. But if a corporation does not market itself as a Christian organization, then why would you expect it to single out a Christian holiday?

Some would say that these companies make a fortune off of Christmas gift sales. True. And if you don’t like that, then quit spending so much on Christmas gifts! Tell your kids they’re not getting Molest-Me Elmo or the Nintendo PeePee for Christmas. Instead they’re going to spend Christmas serving food at a homeless shelter or playing dominos at a nursing home. That’ll show those anti-Christmas, capitalist jerks.

As for me, I love Christmas and I enjoy being a capitalist. But I’m still not buying a Nintendo PeePee.