5 Random Musings
1. Serenity, the theatrical follow-up to the most excellent sci-fi western, Firefly, is now available on DVD. On an earlier post, I mentioned how great Firefly was, a sad testament to the lack of foresight of television executives. Check out Firefly: The Complete Series on DVD, and then go buy Serenity right after that. Great entertainment, and if nothing else, enjoy the work of adorable (and sadly married) Jewel Staite, who plays ship engineer Kaylee Frye.
2. For those of you wondering where the hell "Scrubs" has been so far this television season, have no fear. On Tuesday, January 3rd at 9:00pm on NBC, the show returns with not one, but TWO new episodes for your viewing pleasure. Reunite with J.D., Turk, Eliot (hopefully, despite getting that fellowship last season), and The Todd (high five!) for more mad-cap hijinks at Sacred Heart.
3. For the person who has everything, consider this as a wonderful (albeit, expensive) Christmas gift: The Complete Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson. This collection contains every single Calvin & Hobbes comic strip ever made during its far-too-short run between 1985 and 1996. Enjoy the wonderful world of imagination that Calvin, the precocious and troublesome child, and Hobbes, his wide-beyond-his-years pet tiger, inhabited. This was a truly amazing comic strip, so smart, funny, and sweet, but make no mistake. This was geared for older audiences, given that Calvin was named after John Calvin, a proponent of predestination, and Hobbes came from Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher with a dim view of human nature. Throw in some sweet yet sarcastic parents, a fearless babysitter, Suzie Derkins, Spaceman Spiff, Tracer Bullet, and Stupendous Man, and you got yourself a holiday present that will last a lifetime.
4. Are you a Jim Carrey fan? He is a very polarizing figure, but if you are in the camp that has written him off as an annoying actor/comedian best known for talking with his butt cheeks, I implore you to give him another chance. In addition to his initial run of low-brow comedies, he has tackled some truly exceptional roles that have clearly shown his range as an actor. Think of The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Which brings me to this theory that I've had for some time. If you look at Jim's filmography, you might find a very peculiar trend in that many of his roles have involved differing levels of identity crisis. Bear with me, here. The Mask, Batman Forever (as The Riddler), The Truman Show, The Cable Guy, Man on the Moon, The Majestic, Me Myself & Irene, Bruce Almighty. All of these movies involved roles where Carrey's character had dueling or multiple personalities/personas, and I wonder if there is something going on in his head about his own identity that draws him to such roles. Remember when he accepted an award at the MTV Movie Awards as Jim Morrison? I think the guy has identity issues, perhaps stemming from his childhood when his family was so poor that they lived out of a van. His story is like Jewel's, only worse (the singer, not the Firefly actress). It doesn't seem that unrealistic that he's been using comedy and film to repress that childhood identity by supplanting it with a variety of identities through television and film. The point I'm trying to make is that Jim Carrey is great. And he has a new film coming out, Fun With Dick and Jane. Wouldn't be surprised if identity issues are involved there as well. Alrighty, then...
5. Finally, in a recurring tradition, TBS on Christmas Eve will run "A Christmas Story" for 24 hours continuously. If you haven't seen this holiday film, you're missing out. One boy's quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas is sidetracked by bullies, a heartless shopping-mall Santa, secret decoders from Ovaltine, soap in the mouth for swearing, a lamp shaped like a lady's stocking-ed leg, and Peking Duck for Xmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant ("Deck the harrs with bows of horry, fah rah rah rah rahhhh, rah rah rah rahhhh..." Even I think that's hilarious). Merry Christmas!
2. For those of you wondering where the hell "Scrubs" has been so far this television season, have no fear. On Tuesday, January 3rd at 9:00pm on NBC, the show returns with not one, but TWO new episodes for your viewing pleasure. Reunite with J.D., Turk, Eliot (hopefully, despite getting that fellowship last season), and The Todd (high five!) for more mad-cap hijinks at Sacred Heart.
3. For the person who has everything, consider this as a wonderful (albeit, expensive) Christmas gift: The Complete Calvin & Hobbes by Bill Watterson. This collection contains every single Calvin & Hobbes comic strip ever made during its far-too-short run between 1985 and 1996. Enjoy the wonderful world of imagination that Calvin, the precocious and troublesome child, and Hobbes, his wide-beyond-his-years pet tiger, inhabited. This was a truly amazing comic strip, so smart, funny, and sweet, but make no mistake. This was geared for older audiences, given that Calvin was named after John Calvin, a proponent of predestination, and Hobbes came from Thomas Hobbes, the philosopher with a dim view of human nature. Throw in some sweet yet sarcastic parents, a fearless babysitter, Suzie Derkins, Spaceman Spiff, Tracer Bullet, and Stupendous Man, and you got yourself a holiday present that will last a lifetime.
4. Are you a Jim Carrey fan? He is a very polarizing figure, but if you are in the camp that has written him off as an annoying actor/comedian best known for talking with his butt cheeks, I implore you to give him another chance. In addition to his initial run of low-brow comedies, he has tackled some truly exceptional roles that have clearly shown his range as an actor. Think of The Truman Show, Man on the Moon, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Which brings me to this theory that I've had for some time. If you look at Jim's filmography, you might find a very peculiar trend in that many of his roles have involved differing levels of identity crisis. Bear with me, here. The Mask, Batman Forever (as The Riddler), The Truman Show, The Cable Guy, Man on the Moon, The Majestic, Me Myself & Irene, Bruce Almighty. All of these movies involved roles where Carrey's character had dueling or multiple personalities/personas, and I wonder if there is something going on in his head about his own identity that draws him to such roles. Remember when he accepted an award at the MTV Movie Awards as Jim Morrison? I think the guy has identity issues, perhaps stemming from his childhood when his family was so poor that they lived out of a van. His story is like Jewel's, only worse (the singer, not the Firefly actress). It doesn't seem that unrealistic that he's been using comedy and film to repress that childhood identity by supplanting it with a variety of identities through television and film. The point I'm trying to make is that Jim Carrey is great. And he has a new film coming out, Fun With Dick and Jane. Wouldn't be surprised if identity issues are involved there as well. Alrighty, then...
5. Finally, in a recurring tradition, TBS on Christmas Eve will run "A Christmas Story" for 24 hours continuously. If you haven't seen this holiday film, you're missing out. One boy's quest to get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas is sidetracked by bullies, a heartless shopping-mall Santa, secret decoders from Ovaltine, soap in the mouth for swearing, a lamp shaped like a lady's stocking-ed leg, and Peking Duck for Xmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant ("Deck the harrs with bows of horry, fah rah rah rah rahhhh, rah rah rah rahhhh..." Even I think that's hilarious). Merry Christmas!
posted by F at 4:25 PM
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