HBO On Demand: Juno

(I want this T-Shirt)

I missed this one last year and watched it, yesterday, on HBO on Demand, as I "enjoyed" the bug Henry passed on to me. (Thanks, pre-school.) I liked it, it was fun, great dialogue, but as someone else (Hi Andrew!) pointed out, the dialogue and delivery was a little too snappy and clever to be believable. It bugged him. I'll say I NOTICED it, but still appreciated the humor.

The plot in a nano-second, for those of you who didn't see it: 16-year-old hip, but sweet, girl has sex (once) with a geeky guy she has an inexplicable crush on, gets pregnant, and decides to go through with the pregnancy.

There aren't a lot of deep ah-ha moments in this one. But it's nice to have a non-movie-of-the-week version of this age-old story, isn't it? The performances, especially Ellen Page, as Juno, are first-rate.

Other things I liked, aside from Juno--who is, I must say, an incredibly appealing character:

All the cultural references--slasher movies, classic rock, Les Pauls, etc etc.

Jason Bateman's understated and cool performance as the potential adoptive dad...I didn't know he had it in him

Jennifer Garner...Her character was uptight, but in a believable way, not in the OCD, unsympathetic way people of this ilk are usually portrayed. Again, a nice understated and real version of a stereotypical type of character. I didn't want to be her, thought she was annoying, but liked her and felt sympathetic toward her...that's a lot to pull off.

Allison Janney...Again, too witty, but her delivery is so great I totally forgave her.

Blue Slushies. I need a blue Slushy, like, now. Though I'd prefer not to throw it up upon consumption. (Bit of a spoiler, sorry)

I also need that Slinky t-shirt Juno is wearing toward the end.

All in all, great rental. I was happy I got to check it out.

It just keeps getting better: Friday the 13th out February 13th

Full disclosure: I watched Halloween about three times in a row, just for fun, about a month ago. Yes, that's the kind of person I am. I cut my teeth on the 80's horror flicks and have a ridiculously warm attachment to them. So while I'm a little apprehensive at the idea of a slick new re-make, I'm also game.....I think I need a Camp Crystal Lake T-Shirt, though. (Kill Kill Kill Now Now Now)

Holly Marshall: Where is she now?

Kathleen Coleman was born on February 18, 1962. Her claim to fame is for her portrayal of Holly Marshall on 'Land of the Lost', a show which first ran on Saturday mornings on NBC from September 1974 to December 1976. Her straight bangs and braids, along with her red and white checked shirt and corduroys became her trademark. Holly was the first love for many who grew up watching the show. She married at age 18 and had two sons. She worked on her father-in-laws dairy farm in Fallon, Nevada with her husband for several years before they divorced around 1987, after which she moved back to the Los Angeles area.

(p.s. I have no idea who the guy in the picture is, but if I were Kathleen, I'd watch out for him)

(p.s.s...a little more research has revealed that the due gripping Kathleen is Enik, from the original series...I'm still scared of him.)

(Source: IMDB)

Trivia for Land of the Lost Fans...

• When Spencer Milligan left the show after the second season, his absence was explained by having Rick Marshall disappear after he was trying to use one of the pylons to get home.
  
  
• The producers came up with a very interesting idea to keep their viewers looking at the show during the hiatus between the first and second seasons. In the first season's final episode, the Marshalls discover that for some reason they aren't supposed to be there. Enik later informs them that due to a time disturbance that they never really arrived in the Land of the Lost and must go back in time and relive the accident that brought them there. By going back in time, they also would experience everything that happened to them up to that point in a sort of time loop.
  
  
• During the final season two new monsters were introduced, a two-headed monster named Lulu and a fire-breathing monster named Torchy. Lulu was based on the Pleisiosaur, an aquatic reptile from the Cretaceous period, while Torchy was based on the Dimetrodon, a reptile that died out before Earth's Paleozoic Era transformed into the Mesozoic Era.
  
  

• During the final season, the Marshalls and Chaka moved from their cave to a Sleestak temple. This was partially forced because of a fire that destroyed substantial portions of the studio between the show's second and third seasons.
  
  
• Wesley Eure would often perform songs at the end of several episodes with lyrics pertaining to the lesson learned in the course of the episode.
  
  
• Former Clevland Cavs and Detroit Pistons center Bill Laimbeer was a Sleestak during the show's first season

-Courtesy of IMDB

New in Town

Okay, I didn't really have any plans to see this one, but just in case you're considering it, here's a review from Slate. Looks like Rene's nipples made an impression...

Tragic News: There's going to be a Mall Cop sequel

In two weeks, Blart pulled in $64 million. And it's expected to make at least $100 million at the end of its US movie theater run. That's got Sony excited. Read it and weep.

Oh Joy: Land of the Lost is Coming Soon!

It's baaa-aaaack.

It is Land of the Lost, the Saturday morning show that I adored when I was a kid. For those of you unfamiliar with this brilliant piece of work, it starred Rick, the dad, and his two kids, Will and Holly, who were on an innocent rafting trip when something happened and they fell back in time to when the dinosaurs roamed the earth. All kinds of hijinks ensued, including some involving a race of creepy aliens called Sleestaks.

To say that I loved this show, which ran from 1974 to 1976, is actually an understatement. I Netflix-ed it awhile back and showed it to my son, Henry, who was still teething at the time. It was hopelessly dorky when I saw it again, but I didn't care. I still loved it.

At any rate, there must be other middle-aged fans as lame as I am, because there's a Land of the Lost MOVIE coming out, starring Will Ferrell. I didn't recognize the rest of the cast list, but there are AWFUL lot of Sleestaks on the list, so I'm expecting loads of Sleestak shenanigans in the re-make. Release date is June 9th. Can't wait!