Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »
On New Year’s Day, Sherlock: The Abominable Bride, a 90-minute special, will air on PBS at 9 PM.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman are back as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the modern retelling of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories. This time we find them in 1890s London.
Here is a trailer for Sherlock: The Abominable Bride:
Posted in Books, Movies, Music, Television, Year End Round Up on December 27, 2015| 1 Comment »
The following industry personalities (listed in alphabetical order) passed away in 2015 and heartfelt condolences are extended to their families, friends and fans:
Frank Albanese (Actor, The Sopranos)
Jayne Meadows Allen (Comedian and Actress)
Lynn Anderson (Country Singer)
Yogi Berra (New York Yankees Legend)
James Best (Actor, The Dukes of Hazzard)
Theodore Bikel (Actor, Fiddler On The Roof)
Khan Bonfils (British Actor Star Wars and James Bond franchises
Martin E. Brooks (Actor, Six Million Dollar Man and Bionic Woman)
Bobbi Kristina Brown (Daughter of the late Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown) [She was only 22]
David Canary (Actor, All My Children)
Judy Carne (Laugh-In Star)
David Carr (New York Times Critic and Media Columnist)
Jack Carter (Comedic Actor)
Brian Clemens (Writer/Producer of TV’s The Avengers)
George Coe (Original SNL Member and Archer Voice Actor)
Jackie Collins (Romance Novelist)
Former Child Actor (and TV Producer) Kevin Corcoran, “Old Yeller”
Catherine “The Log Lady” Coulson (Actress, Twin Peaks)
Yvonne Craig (Actress, Batgirl on Batman)
Wes Craven (Director, Scream and Nightmare on Elm Street)
Jonathan Crombie (Canadian actor from Anne of Green Gables movies)
Andrae Crouch (Gospel Singer)
Suzanne Crough (Actress, The Partridge Family)
Jean Darling (Actress, Our Gang)
Little Jimmy Dickens (Legendary Country Singer)
Donna Douglas (Actress, The Beverly Hillbillies)
Richard Dysart (Actor, L.A. Law)
Anita Ekberg (Legendary Actress)
Joe Franklin (TV Talk Show Pioneer)
Stan Freberg (Satirist and Looney Tunes Voice Actor)
Frank Gifford (Sportscaster and NFL Hall of Famer)
Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. (Son of Hollywood Mogul)
Lesley Gore (Singer-Songwriter “It’s My Party”)
John Guillermin (British Director, The Towering Inferno and 1976’s King Kong)
Edward Hermann (Actor Gilmore Girls and Lost Boys)
James Horner (Film Composer “Titanic”)
Marty Ingels (Comic Actor and Industry Raconteur) [and husband of Legendary Shirley Jones]
Doug Jones (Actor, The Love Bug)
Louis Jourdan (Veteran Actor, Gigi)
Mary Doyle Keefe (Model for “Rosie the Riveter” in the Normal Rockefeller painting)
B.B. King (Blues Legend)
Ben K. King (Legendary Singer, “Stand By Me”)
Jack Larson (Veteran Actor, The Adventures of Superman)
Christopher Lee (Actor The Lord of the Rings)
Cynthia Lennon (John Lennon’s first wife and mother of Julian Lennon)
Geoffrey Lewis (Actor, High Plains Drifter and Any Which Way You Can) [Father of actress Juliette Lewis]
Robert Loggia (Veteran Actor)
Nathaniel Marston (Actor, One Life to Live)
Colleen McCullough (Best-Selling Author, “The Thorn Birds”)
Patrick Macnee (Actor, Avengers)
Anne Meara (Comedian-Actress) [Ben Stiller’s mom]
Windell Middlebrooks (Actor, Body of Proof) [He was only 36}
Martin Milner (Actor, Adam-12 and Route 66)
Al Molinaro (Actor, Happy Days)
Ron Moody (Actor, Original box office movie Oliver!)
Dickie Moore (Actor, Little Rascals)
Harry Morgan (Actor, MASH)
Bess Myerson (Former Miss America and TV Personality)
Taylor Negron (Actor-Comedian)
Leonard Nimoy (Legendary Actor)
Patricia Norris (Costume Designer)
Maureen O’Hara (Legendary Actress)
Gary Owens (Legendary TV announcer)
Melody Patterson (Actress, F Troop)
Jim Perry (Game Show Host)
Amanda Peterson (Actress, Can’t Buy Me Love)
“Rowdy” Roddy Piper (Wrestler and Actor)
Ben Powers (Actor, Good Times)
Roger Rees (Actor, Warehouse 13)
Alex Rocco (Actor, The Godfather)
Stuart Scott (ESPN Anchor)
Omar Sharif (Legendary Actor)
Bob Simon (Longtime 60 Minutes and CBS News Reporter)
Sam Simon (Co-Creator, The Simpsons)
Percy Sledge (Legendary Singer, “When a Man Loves a Woman”)
Stewart Stern (Writer of Rebel Without a Cause)
Rod Taylor (Actor, The Birds)
Nigel Terry (Actor, Excalibur)
Fred Thompson (Actor, Law & Order and Former Senator)
Mary Ellen Trainor (Actress, Roswell and The Goonies)
Dick Van Patten (Actor, Eight is Enough)
Daniel Von Bargen (Actor, Seinfeld)
Alberta Watson (Actress, Le Femme Nikita)
Scott Weiland (Lead Singer, Stone Temple Pilots)
Jerry Weintraub (Legendary Producer)
Grace Lee Whitney (Actress, Star Trek)
Ben Woolf (Actor, American Horror Story)
NOTE: This list, in no way, covers all the industry talent who passed away this year. Again, condolences are extended to one and all.
Out of respect, please take a moment of silence.
TOMORROW: Ratings
Posted in Movies, Year End Round Up on December 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »
There was a point in time when I truly enjoyed going to the movies as often as I could, but with the proliferation of cell phones (and all that we can “do” via them), the movie-going experience isn’t what it used to be. Far too many people seem to think that it is acceptable to use their cell phones at any time during the movie rather than following the “rules” by putting them away or, at the very least, muting them. If you need to be on your cell phone so damn much, WHY are you even at the movies?!
Given that sad truth, I have severely reduced how many movies I see each year, but still try to reach the goal of seeing at least 25 each year. This year I reached my goal!!
Out of those 25 movies I enjoyed Cinderella, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation and The Martian the most.
It is doubtful that readers care about what movies I saw throughout the year or which ones I liked best so let’s take a look at the biggest box office winners from this year (through the December 19-20 weekend):
1. Jurassic World – 652 million
2. Avengers: Age of Ultron – 459 million
3. Inside Out – 356 million
4. Furious 7 – 353 million
5. Minions – 336 million
6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens – 288 million
7. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 – 256 million
8. The Martian – 224 million
9. Cinderella – 201 million
10. Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation – 195 million
11. Spectre – 194 million
12. Pitch Perfect 2 – 184 million
13. Ant-Man – 180 million
14. Home – 177 million
15. Hotel Transylvania 2 – 168 million
16. Fifty Shades of Grey – 166 million
17. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water – 163 million
18. Straight Outta Compton – 161 million
19. San Andreas – 155 million
20 Mad Max: Fury Road – 154 million
21. The Divergent Series: Insurgent – 130 million
22. Kingsman: The Secret Service – 128 million
23. The Peanuts Movie – 127 million
24. Spy – 111 million
25. Trainwreck – 110 million
As in years past, I also compiled a list of the movies that were either a disappointment at the box office or simply had horrible-looking trailers [at least in my opinion]. They appear in alphabetical order below:
American Ultra
Cooties
Daddy’s Home
Get Hard
Goosebumps
Hot Pursuit
Hot Tub Time Machine 2
Insidious Chapter 3
Krampus
Maggie
Paul Blart Mall Cop 2
Poltergeist
Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse
Sinister 2
Sisters
The Gallows
The Gift
The Lazarus Effect
The Night Before
The Wedding Ringer
The Woman in Black 2
The Visit
Train Wreck
Unfinished Business
Vacation
What movies did you most enjoy seeing this year? Which movies were disappointments to you? Please share your thoughts and comments.
TOMORROW: Awards
PS: Merry Christmas!!!
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 20, 2015| Leave a Comment »
On December 26, the Hallmark Channel will air the two-hour When Calls the Heart New Year’s Wish holiday special at 8 PM.
Elizabeth and Jack are reeling from Charles’ shocking proposal. As Elizabeth assures Jack her heart remains with him, Jack takes some time apart, while dealing with his disappointment in his mentor Bill, who remains in the Hope Valley jail awaiting trial. And while Abigail decides to take in two runaways who need special care, the whole town prepares to put on an elaborate New Year’s Eve celebration under Rosemary’s leadership, just as Jack finds himself embroiled in a dangerous showdown to end Bill’s counterfeit scheme.
NOTE: The show will be back for its third season in February.
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 16, 2015| Leave a Comment »
On December 20, the Hallmark Channel movie Christmas Land will debut at 8 PM.
When Jules inherits a Christmas tree farm from her late grandmother, she decides the sensible thing to do is to sell it. However, once she revisits the farm, she falls in love with the townspeople and meets a very special–and handsome—town lawyer named Tucker.
The cast includes Nikki DeLoach (Awkward), Luke MacFarlane (Killjoys) and Maureen McCormick.
Here is a trailer for Christmas Land.
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »
A Christmas Melody is the new Hallmark Channel movie that will debut on December 19 at 9 PM.
The film revolves around Kristin (Lacey Chabert), a beautiful, stylish divorcee who is a talented clothing designer and her young daughter. Kristin has just had to close her small Manhattan boutique to return to her Ohio home town and live in her parents’ former home. It’s an adjustment for Kristin and Emily – especially when she runs into her former high school rival Melissa (Mariah Carey, who also directed the movie).
The film also stars Brennan Elliott (Cedar Cove) and Kathy Najimy.
Here is a trailer for A Christmas Melody.
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television on December 15, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The new Lifetime movie The Spirit of Christmas will debut on December 19 at 8 PM.
With a promotion on the line, ambitious young lawyer Kate heads to Vermont to broker the sale of an old inn. Kate has her work cut out for her when she learns its haunted and she meets Daniel Forsythe – a handsome man who died 95 years ago!
Each year, Daniel takes human form exactly twelve days before Christmas, unable to move on with the mystery of his death unsolved. Determined to help Daniel, Kate finds herself in an unlikely romance with the dashing Christmas spirit.
The film stars Jen Lilley (Days of Our Lives).
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The Syfy three-night event Childhood’s End will air on December 14, December 15 and December 16 at 8 PM each night.
The event series takes place after a peaceful invasion of Earth by aliens who promise to eliminate poverty, war and sickness, but whose intentions aren’t quite what they seem.
The cast includes Mike Vogel (Under the Dome), Julian McMahon (Nip/Tuck and Charmed), Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black), Daisy Betts (The Player), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones) and Colm Meaney (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).
Here is a trailer for Childhood’s End.
Posted in Movies, Recommendations, Reminder, Television, Video on December 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The two-night premiere of the mini-series The Expanse will debut on Syfy on December 14 and December 15 at 10 PM both nights.
Set 200 years in the future, the series follows a detective (Thomas Jane from Hung) and a rogue ship captain (Steven Strait from Magic City and 10,000 BC) as they team up to find a missing young woman and unravel the largest conspiracy in human history.
The cast includes Shohreh Aghdashloo (Grimm), Cas Anvar (Olympus) and Wes Chatham (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay).
Here is a trailer for The Expanse:
NOTE: The rest of the 10-episode series will air each Tuesday night at 10 PM.
Posted in Movies, Reminder, Television, Video on December 9, 2015| Leave a Comment »
The original UP Channel movie A Baby For Christmas will debut on December 13 at 7 PM.
This Christmas, the Chandler family, much to Stephanie’s (Victoria Rowell) dismay, seem to be distracted from the usual family holiday traditions. Marci (Malinda Williams) and Blair (Karon Riley) are eagerly awaiting the birth of their first child due on Christmas day. The couple is doing everything in their power to ensure that they have the perfect baby girl – from meditation to changing their eating habits. Work-wise, Marci is trying to juggle impending motherhood with meeting the demands of her top client, Friendly Family Floral. Blair is back to running his own firm. Money is tight but he and Marci are happy and eagerly awaiting the arrival of their little bundle of joy.
Meanwhile, Marci’s Aunt Myra (DeEtta West) and Uncle Donald (Greg Alan Williams), who recently retired, are feeling useless. Eventually they find a meaningful way to occupy their time at the urging of Donald’s cousin, Gavin Brooks (Clifton Powell). Aunt Elizabeth (Chrystale Wilson) is obsessed with getting a promotion at work. Add to the mix, Stephanie’s blooming romance with Lawrence (Kristoff St. John) – who is torn between being with her or continuing his mission work. It appears the Chandler’s have abandoned their Christmas traditions and lost the spirit of Christmas. That is, until a group of kids at an orphanage helps the family to realize there is more to Christmas than wrapping gifts and baking cookies.
Here is a trailer for A Baby for Christmas.
Rueben's Ramblings 