Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Best of the Week - 12/10/11


Quote of the Week: I suck (expletive deleted) and I love it. Yummy, yummy, yummy, yummy. (Saudi Diplomat, Homeland)

Song of the Week: Highway to Hell – AC/DC (How I Met Your Mother)

Scene of the Week:



Big News of the Week: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2012 Inductees Announced: And joining the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next year will be Beastie Boys, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The (Small) Faces, Donovan and Laura Nyro. Well that should make for an interesting jam session. Just the GnR induction should make for an interesting performance. I wonder if voters selected them just to see who shows up an actually plays together. Hopefully it does not turn into another Van Halen situation. And since the event will be held in Cleveland this year, I am availavle to cover it if anyone wants to hook me up with tickets.

Free Download of the Week: When the Bells Start Ringing - My Morning Jacket featuring the Head and the Heart

Deal of the Week: 100 Holiday Albums for $5: For those in need of so holiday cheer, Amazon has a buch of Christmas albums for only $5.00 including ones from Frank Sinatra, Twisted Sister, New Edition and Sarah McLaughlin.



New Album Release of the Week: Red (Vinyl) - Dia Frampton

New DVD Release of the Week: Sledge Hammer! The Complete Series

Video of the Week:

Betty White PSA


Next Week Pick of the Week: Big Cat Week, all week on Nat Geo Wild: Feline lovers clear your schedule this week because Nat Geo Wildwill be running its second annual Big Cat Week starting tomorrow at 8:00 with Stalking the Mountain Lion followed by American Cougar at 9:00 with Cat Wars: Lion vs. Cheetah closing out the night at 10:00, and run ever night until concluding Friday. And who better to introduce Big Cat Week than living legend Betty White (see the above Video of the Week).

Monday, December 05, 2011

I Want My Music Television - 12/5/11


There have been a couple of videos that have caught my eye lately so I thought I’d give them some love since the death of Musical Television left a void for a forum on the art form. If you are interested in buying the video through iTunes, click the title link (where available). If you are interested in buying the song, look for a link in the analysis.

Ours – Taylor Swift



We now know what Matt Sarasen has been up to since Friday Night Lights closed up show and I do not think Julie will be happy to learn that he has been passing notes with Taylor Swift.


The Cowboys’ Christmas Ball – The Killers



It is that time of year again: a weird Christmas song and video from The Killers. This year’s installment goes for the western them in moth music and visuals. Usually I find anything Christmas media without snow an epic fail, but a dancing robot makes up for the lack of the white stuff.


How Come You Never Go There - Feist




Wow, that is a lot of hair Feist is sporting these days. And it is nice to see the Smoke Monster from Lost can still find work after the show ended.


Say You Like Me – We the Kings



Sure the latest video from We the Kings is not as creative or entertaining as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, but their video game inspired video is still fairly amusing.

Thursday, December 01, 2011

We’re Gonna Have the Hap-Hap-Happiest Christmas Since Bing Crosby Tap-danced with Danny Kaye


National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Christmas movies are the comfort food of the holidays, with multiple days off work or school and temperature too cold to actually go outside during the Christmas vacation, it is easy to sit in front of the television with a blanket on and watch some holiday fare, and since ‘tis the season any movie with snow will do. There are few Christmas movies that are legitimately good any time of year and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation is one of the few and this month’s induction into the Scooter Hall of Fame.

Like the first two Vacation movies, Chevy Chase (Fletch) and Beverly D’Angelo (The House Bunny) reprise themselves as the married Griswolds. And like the previous two movies, their children are played by entirely different actors; this time inexplicably Audrey became older than Rusty for the first in the film and were played by the relatively unknown at the time Johnny Galecki (Suicide Kings) and Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers). There was also the returning Randy Quaid (who could not make it to Europe in the previous film) who torments the Griswolds in their own home this time around.

But like every Vacation movie, no matter how many people they try to bring in to steal his thunder, the star of the movie remains Chevy Chase as the bumbling father who thinks he has a chance with a younger woman and has one massive breakdown per movie because everything that could wrong does. And there were plenty of reasons for a break down this time around from unannounced guests to a light show that does not work right. But it is the lack of a Christmas bonus (or more specifically one that turns into jello) that sends him, and Cousin Eddie, who kidnaps his Scrooge of a boss and his wife, over the edge to high comedic results.

My fondest memory of the film happened in high school when my math teacher decided to show the movie before our Christmas vacation and “forgot” to bring the School Board edit version and instead watched the full unedited version instead (actually this was a common occurrence of my teacher as we also got the real version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail in English one time). For those that do not have cool enough teachers, you can catch the movie playing on ABC Family this month on 12/7 and 12/12 both at 9:00.



Wednesday, November 30, 2011

ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas 2011 Schedule


ABC Family's 25 Days of Christmas

It is that time of year ago when you just stay inside with a blanket on and watch Christmas specials for a month straight. And ABC Family is happy to accommodate with its 25 Days of Christmas (Harry Potter and Pixar marathons notwithstanding). Some highlights include new original movie 12 Dates of Christmas (12/11 at 8:00) starring Amy Smart and Mark-Paul Gosselaar who relive the same Christmas Eve first date over and over again Groundhog Day style until she learns to open up and stop living in the past. This year also features the ABC Family premieres of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (12/4 at 8:30), Disney/Pixar’s Up (12/16 at 9:00) and one of the all time great holiday classics, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.


Thursday, December 1
(7:00) The Santa Clause


Friday, December 2
(6:00) Dr. Seuss on the Loose
(8:00) Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Live Action)


Saturday, December 3
(All Day Long) Harry Potter Marathon


Monday, December 4
(All Day Long) Harry Potter Marathon)
(8:30) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


Monday, December 5
(7:00) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer & the Island of Misfit Toys
(8:30) The Polar Express


Tuesday, December 6
(6:00) 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
(8:30) Home Alone 2: Lost in New York


Wedensday, December 7
(6:00) A Very Pink Christmas
(9:00) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - ABC Family Premiere


Thursday, December 8
(7:00) Frosty's Winter Wonderland
(7:30) Cranberry Christmas
(9:00) The Year Without a Santa Claus


Friday, December 9
(7:00) Santa Claus is Comin' to Town


Saturday, December 10
(All Day Long) holiday Movie Marathon
(8:00) The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause


Sunday, December 11
(6:00) Holiday in Handcuffs
(8:00) 12 Dates of Christmas – A New ABC Family Original Movie


Monday, December 12
(9:00) National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation


Tuesday, December 13
(7:00) Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat (Animated)
(7:30) Dr. Seuss' The Grinch Grinches the Cat in the Hat


Wednesday, December 14
(8:30) Dinsney∙Pixar’s Finding Nemo


Thursday, December 15
(9:00) Beauty and the Beast


Friday, December 17
(9:00) Dinsney∙Pixar’s Up - ABC Family Premiere


Saturday, December 18
(All Day Long) Holiday Classics Marathon
(8:00) Dinsney∙Pixar’s Toy Story


Sunday, December 18
(8:00) Dinsney∙Pixar’s Toy Story 2


Monday, December 19
(6:30) Aladdin
(8:30) Disney∙Pixar’s The Incredibles


Tuesday, December 20
(6:00) Mickey's Christmas Special
(9:00) The Polar Express


Wednesday, December 21
(7:00) Disney's Prep and Landing
(8:00) The Santa Clause


Thursday, December 22
(7:00) The Santa Clause 3 - The Escape Clause


Friday, December 23
(8:00) Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Live Action)


Saturday, December 24
(All Day Long) Holiday Classics Marathon
(7:00) Santa Claus is Comin' to Town
(8:00) The Year Without a Santa Claus


Sunday, December 25
(8:00) The Polar Express


For those that missed ABC Family’s other new original movie this year Desperately Seeking Santa (which for some reason they premiered before Thanksgiving), you can currently watch the full movie on Hulu. Or just check it out below:



Saturday, December 11, 2010

Best of the Week vol. LVI


Quote of the Week: It’s the first season of Lost on DVD… No, it’s a metaphor, it represents a lack of payoff. (Abed, Community)

Song of the Week: Piano Man - Piano Man – Billy Joel (as sung by the cast of Castle)

Big News of the Week: I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas: But I was kind of hoping for a sixty and sunny Chanukah. Instead I had gotten eight days of shoveling snow. And it doesn’t look like things will be letting up since the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm advisory that isn’t set to expire until Wednesday evening. I guess I will be sending the next week inside watching 25 Days of Christmas.

Free Download of the Week: Christmastime Is Here (Instrumental) - Vince Guaraldi Trio (iTunes): You may know this song better as that song from the Peanuts Christmas Special.

Deal of the Week: 100 Christmas Albums for $5 Each: Get some holiday cheer from Sarah McLaughlin, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Diamond, and John Denver with the Muppets.



New Album Release of the Week: III/IV - Ryan Adams

New DVD Release of the Week: Cyrus [Blu-ray]

Video of the Week: The Sing Off returned this week and here is more favorite performance of the first two episodes (of which you can buy, along with the other songs from The Sing-Off on iTunes):



Next Week Pick of the Week: Leverage, Sunday at 9:00 on TNT: In a story I broke earlier this week, Leverage concludes its third season over the next two Sundays (see Previewing Leverage: The Ho Ho Ho Job). And do not forget you can chat with the chat tomorrow after the show over at TNT.tv.