My birthday threw off my blogging schedule a bit there, didn't it? Let's ease back in with this fist dose of movies watched in September.

77. (1015.) Thank God It's Friday (1978)
Holy crap, I enjoyed this far more than this deserved. Despite the inclusion of Jeff Goldblum, Debra Winger, The Commodores and Donna Summer (who gave the movie its Oscar-winning theme, Last Dance), the whole thing feels very amateurish in the best possible way. Utterly charming if you're in the mood for something frivolous and very, very 70s.

78. (1016.) Hellcats of the Navy (1957)
Ronald Reagan made a great submarine captain. At least, that's what this based-on-a-true-story movie needs me to believe. (It's no wonder that Reagan was able to play such a convincing president. It was a role he'd been groomed into for years.) So far as movies about submariners in WWII go, it's not bad, but that hardly makes it great.

79. (1017.) Any Number Can Play (1949)
I stumbled across this film by accident on TV and simply couldn't turn it off. Clark Gable is another of those actors I only learned to appreciate late in life (only after seeing his last film, The Misfits, in fact). He's on top of his game here and totally worth sticking around for.

80. (1018.) Grey Gardens (1975)
I'd heard so much about this documentary, but when I finally got around to watching it, I found I really couldn't stand it. The secret to any documentary is to make the subject matter (no matter how dull or esoteric) fascinating. In this case, all I felt was revulsion and pity. I only made it to the end with the aid of my fast forward button.

81. (1019.) Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper (2016)
On the other hand, I had no idea that Gloria Vanderbilt had lived such an amazing life. She's like the 20th century's real-life Forest Gump. Amazing. Not surprisingly, the documentary made with the assistance of her most famous son glosses over a lot, but there's still so much to explore.

More to come.

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: movies

Opened my browser today and this:

It's always nice to be reminded that Big Brother is watching. Next time, I'll put on pants before turning on my computer.

(Did they have to put bugs on my cake? I'm getting a very mixed message here.)

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: birthday holidays internet walter

So somehow this is a thing now:

I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I mean, I like M&M's (even with their unconventional use of the apostrophe). I have a bag near me now.

However, who wants a candy that tastes like the Miami Dolphins? They're not a particularly good football team. What would you expect a Dolphins-branded candy to taste like? Failure? Disappointment? Actual dolphins?

At least they don't taste like the Cleveland Browns.

Comments (3) | Leave a Comment | Tags: dolphins food football mandms nfl

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip poodle strip poodles

Saturday, September 17 was officially Batman Day 2016 according to DC Comics.

I might have remembered that if there was some rhyme or reason to when Batman Day is celebrated. In 2014, it was in July. Last year, it was September 26.

Just like Batman himself, you never know when Batman Day will strike!

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: batman holidays

Sunsets and rainbows.

Just because.

Comments (1) | Leave a Comment | Tags: georgia newnan sunsets

The Olympics swallowed August, and I saw only 4 movies last month. Here they are.

73. (1011.) S.O.B. (1981)
This fantastically dark, dark comedy by Blake Edwards is a send-up of Hollywood. Best known as the film in which Julie Andrews goes topless, the film is worth watching for Robert Preston alone. He steals every scene he's in.

74. (1012.) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
Look! Rhino! Electro! Gwen Stacy! Green Goblin! Spider Slayer! Aunt May! Chameleon! Dr. Octopus! Uncle Ben! Vulture! Lizard! Richard Parker! This movie is so determined to squeeze in every possible Spider-Man easter egg that it forgot to tell anything resembling a cohesive story. (Seriously, was I was I watching a toy commercial?) Ultimately, it feels more like a television pilot or a video game promo than a theatrical release. Skip this and read the comics instead. At least comic publishers understand that incomplete stories don't sell.

75. (1013.) Breaking Away (1979)
This is often discussed as being among the "great sports movies," but just like how The Karate Kid is barely about martial arts, this movie is more of a coming of age movie than a film about bicycle racing. That's not a negative. It is a very good movie.

76. (1014.) Evil Dead (2013)
A completely unnecessary (and slightly stupid) remake of one of the most perfect (and funny) horror movie series of all time. My biggest complaint is that it does a poor job of laying out and following its own rules — a cardinal sin in the horror genre. If you're in the mood for this sort of demonic slasher film, watch the superior Sam Raimi/Bruce Campbell originals instead.

I've already seen more than four movies in September, so I can promise a bigger batch of movies next time.

More to come.

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: movies

At long last, the 2016 NFL season is here!

Yesterday the Miami Dolphins opened the season with a loss to the Seattle Seahawks. (I'm typing this on Friday, but I feel pretty confident about what the outcome of the game will be.) The Dolphins can only get better from here, right? Not so fast.

FootballOutsiders.com predicts the Dolphins will win 6.3 games. FiveThirtyEight.com models call for 6.4 wins. ESPN (inheritor of the AdvancedFootballAnalytics.com prediction models) says 7. That might sound bad, but they're all based on the team's history. Over the last 10 years, the Dolphins have averaged 6.7 wins a season. Ouch.

Over the franchise's first 40 season, it averaged over 9 wins a season. How the once mighty have fallen. Is there any reason for optimism that the team will regain its former glory this year? Sure, why not. The team has a new, first time head coach and a healthy defensive line. That has to count for something, right? I mean, it's not like the team has the same mediocre quarterback and the same clueless owner and is still in the same division as the New England Patriots. Sigh.

(EDIT: On Sunday, the Dolphins did indeed lose to the Seahawks. The Dolphins' quarterback repeatedly failed to identify passing lanes, and the receivers repeatedly dropped the balls that did reach them as the team went on to score a paltry 10 points [the lone touchdown coming on a 2-yard quarterback keeper]. Every team in the AFC lost on opening day, every team except the New England Patriots, who now lead their division yet again. Take that, Nostradamus.)

Here's to the 2017 NFL season!

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: dolphins football nfl

UGA played their first home game of the Kirby Smart era against 50-point underdog Nicholls State University. Unfortunately, no one told Nicholls State. The entire Bulldog Nation has to hope that it wasn't indicative of how future home games will unfold.

Full credit to the Nicholls State Colonels. If not for one single play in the 3rd quarter, when their senior QB (who wasn't even their starter at the position — that would be freshman Chase Fourcade, who played a pretty great game) fumbled a ball that UGA returned for a quick touchdown, they would have won the game outright. Instead, they only managed to play to within 2 points, losing 24-26.

Their defensive line held Georgia's offense and Nick Chubb in check all afternoon. The Georgia players and staff didn't help themselves, continuing to make the same sorts of special teams mistakes that were named among the reasons that former coach Mark Richt was fired. Late in the 4th quarter, after Nicholls scored their 24th point, Smart replaced first-time starter Jacob Eason with Greyson Lambert. As the fellow to my left yelled, it wasn't Eason's fault that Nicholls was scoring points.

If a lowly FCS school like Nicholls can stymie the (formerly) number 9 ranked Bulldogs, UGA might be in real trouble when they start SEC play next week against Missouri.

Comments (2) | Leave a Comment | Tags: athens football georgia greyson lambert jacob eason kirby smart nicholls state nick chubb quarterbacks sanford

Comments (0) | Leave a Comment | Tags: comic strip poodle strip poodles