AlphabetSoup

From the band that just keeps making it interesting… The Barenaked Ladies have posted 50 video clips on their web site (http://bnlmusic.com/video/) of acoustic versions of their songs all filmed from Ed’s bathroom.

Humorous. Unique. Just a bit odd. And not too clear what he is sitting on.

One of the many reasons the Barenaked Ladies are one of my favorite bands.

Almost a year ago, we started this movie night group. Once a month we get together and watch a movie from the American Film Institute’s Top 100 list. From Casablanca, to Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, to the Maltese Falcon, we have viewed many to date.

This past month’s movie was the 1959 classic Some Like It Hot with Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe.

This movie has it all. Musicians Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis accidentally witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and get out of town the only way they know how — dressed as women and join an all-girl band on their way to Florida. The cross-dressing humor was hilarious. There is suspense, murder, a hot brewing love-story, and of course a chase scene.

One of the band members, Sugar Kane (played by Marilyn Monroe) was not only funny, but also was beautiful (this was, sadly, my first ever viewing of Marilyn in a movie outside of the skirt-blowing scene or her happy birthday song to JFK).

Humor abound, a easy to follow, but not figure out, plot led to an very enjoyable movie and a great night. Not over the top, gruesome, or lovey-dovey. If you are looking for a funny, black-and-white classic, Some Like It Hot should be at the top of the list.

STIFF: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers.

I bought this book from Simply Books at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport before my trip to Phoenix in March. I had heard good things about the book from a friend.

Holding the book in my hand at the store, reading the subtitle, and then the cover quote: “One of the funniest and most unusual books of the year . . . . Gross, educational, and unexpectedly sidesplitting.” — Entertainment Weekly. I decided to buy it.

Granted it isn’t an endorsement from the New York Times Book Review. But “funny” and “sidesplitting?” This is a book about human cadavers. Dead people. What is so funny about death and dead people’s bodies? I had to find out.

Now, my wife, Meghan, is an anatomy of physiology teacher. I am aware that she uses cadavers for some of her lab classes. We have an agreement: she doesn’t tell me what days those labs are on, and we never talk about them. So learning about what happens to the human cadaver piqued my interest.

Mary Roach’s introduction takes the time to tiptoe around the issue of death and the remains of the dead. She explains that cadavers are no longer your loved one; they are merely a placeholder for the living. When you can get past thinking about cadavers as people (not so easy, even for gross anatomy students), you can really begin to understand the important role they play for the living.

(more…)

SYNOPSIS: In this thriller based on James Ellroy’s novel, Los Angeles cops Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett) and Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) uncover corruption and conspiracy within the force while searching for the killer of Tinseltown hopeful Elizabeth Short (Mia Kirshner). The film follows Bleichert and Blanchard as they venture into Hollywood’s darker side to piece together Short’s secret life in an effort to crack the 1947 high-profile case.

My review:
STAY AWAY. Stay far away. This movie was almost unwatchable. Sure with Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson it should be visually appealing for all parties. But the movie’s plot jumped more than a Mexican bean. And the transition from one scene to the next left the viewer (me) wondering “what the F!” By the time the ending came around, I was so disinterested, I went out to walk the dogs.

Not even worthy of a star.