Live In Peace
Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly take on Bow and Crosby in this bit of Christmas merriment.
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Today In Jeff History
Had a great day running around with the kids. Started in Naperville where North Central College was celebrating Homecoming. That mean no parking. Well, we did finally find a garage with spaces. After that, over to Five Guys. Yes, the burgers and fires are great but the space aged "every flavor you can think of and then some" pop dispenser is out of this world.
We then made our way to Barnes & Noble for some book shopping. Turns out they had a 50% off Criterion Blu-Ray and DVD sale. Picked up Island of Lost Souls with an ultra creepy performance by Charles Laughton.
We then made our way to Remember When Records and CDs in Westmont only to find out it had closed when Hank the proprietor retired. It was a great record store and sadly one of the few in the area. It is not completely gone, however. The store will now be a 2nd hand store with the front part continuing to be a record store.
We then went to visit a family friend followed by the drive home and a nice chicken and veggie dinner.
It all brings us to the evenings viewing of Dr. Cyclops on Svengoolie. All in all, a truly great day.
Happy Birthday Mothra
Yesterday marked the 50th Anniversary of the release of the Mothra in Japan. It is a beautiful film to watch. The effects by Eiji Tsuburaya are top notch. Ishiro Honda's direction brings us a film that is masterful in it simplicity.
On Facebook, a number of fans marked the occasion by taking part in a combined viewing where by they all started it at the same time and then "chatted" with each other as it played. It was a great, communal experience that was a big hit with all who were able to take part.
We hope to make it a regular experience that anyone added to the group can take part in.
I'm Thor
So in an effort to back up my words, I will post my review of the latest entry in the Marvel comics come to life genre, THOR. I went with the family to take in Thor in 3D on Friday night. We all enjoyed it a great deal. I didn't think it was great but I enjoyed the heck out of it and felt it was a very strong lead in to the upcoming Avengers release of 2012. The showcase Marvel film of 2011 is Captain America, as he is more central to the Avenger's line up.
Thor may be considered a lesser member to some but I loved the character. I dressed as Thor in 5th grade for Halloween. I don't know if it was because of the long hair and my growing up in the 1970s when only rock stars and cool big brothers had hair like that but I wanted to be Thor with his muscles, long hair and the cool hammer. I achieved a few of those items but was nowhere as cool and powerful.
The Thor film benefits from a very stong cast consisting of Chris Hemsworth in the titular role, Anthony Hopkins as his father Odin, Stellan Skarsgård and Natalie Portman as love interest Jane Foster. I felt the cast was very strong with the exception of Portman. She was bad in the Star Wars prequel trilogy and delivered the same wooden, unconvincing performance here. Hemsworth on the other hand was great. He was very likeable and handled teh role with the power and majesty it deserved. Fortunately he was strong enough to overcome Portman's weakness.
I left the theater all ready for Captain America later in the Summer and the Avengers in 2012. I give THOR 3 and a half Billys.
Is There Anybody Out There?
Blogs have it tough these days. When they were the only way to discuss what was going on in one's life, be it movies, music, family or whatever, there were a great outlet. Then came the great and powerful THE Facebook. With this marvelous tool, one could hook up with a large number of firends, real and pretend, and instantly state that a certain movie was great, a new album rocks or a child has just lost their tooth. 
In other words, it made things too easy and became the communication choice for many and for many a blog, the end of the line. Sadly, that is what has happened with my blog. I have had a real tough time keeping it current. Writing an article a day or even several per week is a difficult task when yo ucan quickly type a few sentences on THE Facebook and reach several hundred people you in an instant.
So does that mean my blog is going away? I hope not. I hope it will become of good use again for more long form movie or music reviews. I can see room for both.
Help Those In Need
In this day of global existence, most of the world was able to see the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit north eastern Japan on March 11th. The quake registered 8.9 on the Richter scale and spawned a tsunami that measure over 30 feet and approached the coast at speeds over 500 miles per hour. The surge reached 6 miles inland and caused widespread damage to homes and businesses. Several nuclear power plants are currently under close watch and in danger of meltdown. Much of the country is without power and stores without food. Many have lost contact with friends and family in the north.
From a distance, many wonder what we can do to help. Fortunately, there are a number of reputable organizations accepting donations to bring food, medicine and assist with the rebuilding the country will be undertaking for the coming years.
This list is only a sampling. For a more comprehensive list, check here or here.
Oscar Eve
Today, we saw the last of the Oscar Best Picture nominees that we will see before the ceremony tomorrow night. And I believe we saved the best for last. When we saw True Grit on Christmas night, I was sure we had seen the best film of the year. That lasted until today when we saw The Kings Speech.
The King's Speech was a dynamite film. It tells the story of the Duke of York in the years before England was pushed into WWII. The Duke finds himself being put in a position where is called upon to engage in public speaking. That would not be a problem for most people raised in royalty but for the Duke, this was a very big problem as he is a stutterer.
Colin Firth will likely get the Oscar for his role as Albert, the son of King George V of Britain. Unfortunately for Geoffrey Rush, who plays speech therapist Lionel Logue, Christian Bayle will likely get the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. If not for Bayle's performance, Rush would also be a shoe-in.
The King's Speech is not so much a film about the Royals as it is a film about the human condition and the fight to overcome's one's problems. That is something anyone can relate to.
I give the King's Speech 4 and Half Billys.
Top 10 Albums of 2010
It was a great year for music. Many indie bands broke through and hit the big time. Unfortunately, the former home of great indie music went main stream, while losing a number of great indie labels in the process. It will likely impact the 2011 list but 2010 is still in tact. Go look up some of these bands. You will be justly rewarded.
My Top 10 albums of 2010 are...
Cee Lo Green – Lady Killer: The nerve to release the year's catchiest song that can't be sung in public or in the kid's carpool. A great souful pop album.
Arcade Fire - Suburbs: Their first number one album is a concept album that shows us the genre is still viable. Topped tour off with a webcast from MSG directed by Terry Gilliam.
Band of Horses – Infinite Arms: Great harmonies that sound as if Brian Wilson had a hand in this release. Laredo was my song of the Summer. The strength of that single alone lands the album near the top of my list.
Superchunck – Majesty Shredding: 41 minutes of perfect pop. You wouldn't know it was their first album in over a decade.
Sufjan Stevens – Age of Adz: Sufjan starts the album with his signature folk sound but is quickly overcome with techo, dance infused rhythms which show he's no one trick pony.
Vampire Weekend - Contra: Released so early in the year (January 12), I'd forgotten it was a 2010 release. Their first number one album.
Fang Island – Fang Island: Triple lead guitars shout out joyful melodies throughout so the sparse vocals don't have to.
Jonsi - Go: An incredibly interesting and rewarding listen from the lead singer of Sigur Ros. Catchier and more accessible than anything he's recorded with the band.
The New Pornographers – Together: The indie supergroup releases another collection of great pop songs. It's whole is still stronger than they sum of it's parts.
Jeff Horne – Year: This had to make the list. My first album in 15 years. Written and recorded with the family, I loved every minute of recording it and feel it's my strongest start to finish.
www.jeffhorneweb.com
Best Reissue: Cure – Disintegration: Their best album gets remastered and includes an extra disc of demos and an expanded version of a live version of the album from the 1989 tour.
I hope you find something you like here. There is plenty to chose from. You will be glad you tried to find them.
Happy listening.
Record Setting
Watching this past Monday's Bears v. Vikings game, I was taken by two events. I had hoped the knock-out of Brett Favre in the first quarter would end the unbelievable fawning the ESPN idiots were carrying out. This didn't stop them at all. They continued throughout the game. There were a large number of shots of Favre bundled up on the sideline, giving them another chance to bow at the Crocs of the game's biggest hype monger. For anyone outside of Minneapolis, it was sickening and infuriating. Thank gawd Jerry Angelo drafted Corey Wooten this season. He tamed what would have been even more intolerable by game's end, if that is possible.
On the far more positive side was Devin Hester's record breaking 14th career kick return for a touchdown. In 211 fewer games than the previous record holder, Brian Mitchell, Hester scored his 14th touchdown. He has had an amazing career and will likely continue for some time to come. This touchdown came on the heels of an almost score that saw him tackled on the six yard line. There's nothing I can type that can equal seeing all fourteen TDs.
So congrats Devin Hester. Keep 'em coming.
Let It Snow
The first storm of the season is bearing down on us as I type. The forecast is calling for 4-6 inches but it has been revised as the storm got closer to the area. They say that if you don't like the weather here just wait ten minutes and it will change.
The impending storm did cause a change to our plans for Christmas Tree hunting. A few years ago, an ice storm hit as we were cutting down our tree. We ended up in a ditch on the way home. We also saw at least 12 other vehicles with similar fates. We never want a repeat of that day so we decided to stay close to home and got our tree from a lot tonight. The kids were sad and so were we but better to place it safe rather than go through that again.
The smell of a fresh tree in the house is great. Tomorrow the lights and ornaments go on. Tis the season and it is great.
