The Weigh In #40

The first week of February lands me smack in the middle of familiar territory. Your humble host is back once again to put together Stumblebum’s favorite (and coincidentally only) article on all things movie and television related,
The Weigh In. Over the last month I spent some time interviewing Jamie Dee Galey, talking about comics, and honing my writing talent. It was a hoot and a holler and a half.

Sidebar: I am really interested in what you thought of our little January Rotation. After you check out the article, please let me know here.

Now back to why you wandered my way. January has been a pretty busy month, what with awards season, the announcement of movies coming out later in the year, and other fun entertainment news, so I wanted to take this week to recap some of the fun and excitement we have all missed while I was on hiatus.

The Golden Globes: The number two awards show, that is usually considered a good indicator of what is coming up at the Oscars, has come and gone and we just completely missed it.
A quick recap:

Best Motion Picture/Drama=Brokeback Mountain
Best Motion Picture/Musical or Comedy=Walk the Line
Best Performance/Actress/Drama=Felicity Huffman, Transamerica
Best Performance/Actor/Drama=Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote
Best Performance/Actress/Musical or Comedy=Reese Witherspoon, Walk the Line
Best Performance/Actor/Musical or Comedy=Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line
Best Foreign Language=Paradise Now
Best Supporting Actress=Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardner
Best Supporting Actor=George Clooney, Syriana
Best Director=Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain
Best Screenplay=Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain
Best Score=John Williams, Memoirs of a Geisha
Best TV Series/Drama=Lost
Best TV Series/Musical or Comedy=Desperate Housewives
Best TV Actress/Drama=Geena Davis, Commander In Chief
Best TV Actor/Drama=Hugh Laurie, House
Best TV Actress/Musical or Comedy=Mary Louise Parker, Weeds
Best TV Actor/Musical or Comedy=Steve Carrell, The Office

Each of the major studios has listed its movie slate for 2006. (These are by no means their only movies, just the ones that have been announced, and are of course subject to change).

And there you have it. Which ones will be forever implanted into your memory (good or bad), which ones will be completely forgettable until you are wandering the $2.99 bin at your local video store? Who knows?

That is pretty much the nuts and bolts of January. Stay tuned next week where we go Back (cue music) to the Future, or something like that. The Oscar nominations will be out by then and I will take an in-depth look at all of the nominees by category, complete with movie reviews, who I think will win, and of course, my humble opinion on the best of the best. So stay tuned. Because you know I wouldn’t steer you wrong.

This weekend at your local multiplex: (2/3/2006)

When a Stranger Calls: Horror
Camilla Bell, Brian Garaghty
Plot: A remake of the 1979 film starring Carol Kane of Taxi fame. A young woman is asked to baby sit a couple’s young children while they go out for the night. She starts getting threatening phone calls and each call escalates in intensity until she finally finds both the children she was watching are found dead.
Buzz: First of all, Sony is remaking a film with one of the most famous twist lines in film history “the call is coming from inside the house”, secondly, the company that was nice enough to put together this trailer was nice enough to fit the entire movie into its 3 minute trailer. Save your eight bucks and ninety minutes and track down the trailer.

Something New: Comedy
Sanaa Lathan, Simon Baker, Mike Epps, Donald Faison, Blair Underwood, Alfre Woodard
Plot: A young working woman, after working late at night on Valentine’s Day, decides to go out on a blind date set up by her friends. The date starts her thinking about her future mate and begins taking advice from friends: some girlfriends, others womanizing men, and when she meets who she thinks is the man of her dreams, she in unable to handle all of the pressure.
Buzz: I haven’t really heard anything about this movie, although it is being marketed as another African American generic relationship film, (unfortunately most of these have interchanging plots and actors). Not much else out this weekend though.

Tamara: Horror
Jenna Dewan, Matthew Marsden, Chad Faust, Gil Hacochen, Claudette Mink
Plot: After a high school prank on the school dork goes horribly awry, the pranksters decide to bury the body. The victim comes back from the dead to exact her revenge.
Buzz: Yeah, that has never been done before. If you like cheesy horror movies, pick it up at blockbuster. The last month has been flooded with horror flicks, go see one of those instead.

This week on DVD: 1/31/2006

Corpse Bride
In Her Shoes
The Legend of Zorro
Gone with the Wind (se)
Four Wedding and a Funeral (se)
Dune (David Lynch version) (extended director’s cut)
The A Team (season 3)
Knight Rider (season 3)
Magnum P.I. (season 3)
Supercross: The Movie
Hill Street Blues (season 1)
Different Strokes (season 2)
Fools Rush In/Maid in Manhattan 2 pack
Bubble (see article for more details)
The Pink Panther: Classic Cartoon Collection
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (se)
Gastineau Girls (season 1)
Archie Bunker’s Place (season 1)

As always you can always drop me a line or dip into my ever widening bag ‘o knowledge with an email at DPlace76@yahoo.com.
Or you can be privy to my own private world of nonsense at www.livejournal.com/users/bigdpimpin.

Much love, and ya’ll come back now ya’hear.

Dana