No work!
No prospects of work!
No money!
Yikes!
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 255 user reviews.
All posts by Ray Ivey
I love Michelle, I really do. I think she could be the greatest First Lady since Jackie O.
However. She does one thing that undermines her obvious intelligence. It’s grating on me.
There’s this mispronunciation common to people from New York and Chicago. It involves words which begin with the S T R consonant combination. Words like “strength”, “street” and “straight.”
The mistake is that people mysteriously change the S sound to an SH sound.
So “strength” becomes “shtrength.” “Street” becomes “shtreet.”
“Shtraight.”
“Shtream.”
I don’t know why people do this. But Michelle is a very smart lady and she should know better. Someone who is close to her needs to sit her down and have her work on this.
For the good of the nation.
That is all.
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 294 user reviews.
So here’s the premise:
You find a magic pill that would, if you took it, make you go to sleep and wake up at any point in your past that you choose. You would be the younger version of yourself, but you would retain all of the knowledge and memory of your experiences. In effect, it would give you the opportunity to go back and have a “do-over.”
Let’s say you were even allowed to magically bring back a “Little Black Book” with notes on stocks to invest in, flights to avoid, etc.
Would you do it? How many years would you go back? What would you try to change? Would you make an effort to “gather up” the important people in your current life again? Would you marry the same person? Do the same job? Live the same place?
Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 220 user reviews.
THE TEN BEST FILMS
1. (tie) *The Right Stuff
Fanny and Alexander (Sweden)
2. Terms of Endearment
3. Zelig
4. Silkwood
5. Risky Business
6. Star 80
7. (tie) Return of the Jedi
The Return of Martin Guerre” (France)
8. The Big Chill
9. Under Fire
10. Tender Mercies
DIRECTOR
*Philip Kaufman, The Right Stuff
Ingmar Bergman, Fanny and Alexander
James Brooks, Terms of Endearment
Paul Brickman, Risky Business
Woody Allen, Zelig
Bob Fosse, Star 80
Mike Nichols, Silkwood
Robert Altman, Streamers
ACTOR
*Eric Roberts, Star 80
Robert Duvall, Tender Mercies
Michael Caine, Educating Rita
Tom Courtenay, The Dresser
Albert Finney, The Dresser
ACTRESS
*Shirley MacLaine, Terms of Endearment
Debra Winger, Terms of Endearment
Julie Walters, Educating Rita
Meryl Streep, Silkwood
Jane Alexander, Testament
SUPPORTING ACTOR
*Jack Nicholson, Terms of Endearment
Ed Harris, The Right Stuff”/”Under Fire
William Hurt, The Big Chill
Jerry Lewis, The King of Comedy
Fred Ward, The Right Stuff”/”Uncommon Valor”/”Silkwood
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
*Linda Hunt, The Year of Living Dangerously
Sandra Bernhardt, King of Comedy
Cher, Silkwood
Louise Fletcher, Brainstorm” / “Strange Invaders
Betty Buckley, Tender Mercies
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
*Terms of Endearment
Fanny and Alexander
Zelig
Risky Business
Silkwood
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
*The Right Stuff
Heat and Dust
Star 80
*The Return of Martin Guerre
Streamers
SOUND
*The Right Stuff
Return of the Jedi
Zelig
CINEMATOGRAPHY
*The Right Stuff
Koyaanisqatsi
Zelig
Risky Business
Return of the Jedi
SCORE
*Koyaanisqatsi
Heat and Dust
Risky Business
Zelig
ART DIRECTION
*The Right Stuff
Fanny and Alexander
Risky Business
The Return of Martin Guerre
Heat and Dust
Zelig
COSTUME
*The Right Stuff
Fanny and Alexander
The Return of Martin Guerre
The Draughtsman’s Contract
Heat and Dust
Zelig
Star 80
MOST HILARIOUS
Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
A Christmas Story
Hercules
MOST DISAPPOINTING
Daniel
LEAST APPRECIATED
Strange Invaders
MOST USELESS SEQUELS
Jaws 3D
Superman III
MOST HILARIOUS REVIEWS
Two of a Kind
MOST WORTHY CANDIDATES FOR EARLY RETIREMENT
John Travolta
Sylvester Stallone
Olivia Newton-John
Jennifer Beals
BEST LINES
You want to see something really scary?” Dan Aykroyd in “Twilight Zone: The Movie
I’m not like other guys.” Michael Jackson speaks the truth in “Thriller
They took the train!!” Louise Fletcher in “Strange Invaders
I’ve got a trig mid-term tomorrow and I’m being chased by Guido, the Killer Pimp!!” “Risk BusinessWould you prefer white?” John Cleese’s question to Death after the Grim Reaper ha smashed a proffered glass of red wine
Some peckerwood’s got to take the thing up, and some peckerwood’s gotta land it. And tha peckerwood is called . . uh . . a pilot. Kim Stanley in “The Right Stuff
Flap, one of your nicest qualities has always been your ability to recognize your ow shortcomings. Please don’t lose that quality now when you need it the most.” Shirley MacLaine in “Terms of Endearment”
Average Rating: 4.8 out of 5 based on 212 user reviews.
Jason Ritter is the 29-year old son of the late John Ritter. Like his dad, he’s an actor.
Sometimes I cop a little bit of an attitude at second (and third!) generation actors. Many of them (Charlie Sheen, Emilio Estavez, Bridget Fonda, Kate Hudson, Kiefer Sutherland, Jared Harris, Joely Richardson, Colin Hanks, even Gwynneth Paltrow) don’t even come close to equaling the talent and charm of their famous parents.
However, there’s another group (Jamie Lee Curtis, Timothy Hutton, Jane Fonda, Amanda Plummer, Beau and Jeff Bridges, Michael Douglas, Sean Astin, Geraldine Chaplin, Laura Dern, and others) who make a believer out of me by holding their own as performers.
After seeing him in the films Happy Endings and now The Education of Charlie Banks, I am happy to add young Mr. Ritter to this list.
In the movie (which was made in 2007 but only now released), Ritter plays a toxic, violent but charismatic bully. He’s rather great in the role, and the fact that his 5′ 9″ frame does not make him a natural to play a physically imposing character makes his performance all the more impressive.
Ritter plays the kind of creep who makes you believe he’d gather followers around him like the Pied Piper even though he’s capable of committing acts of great destruction.
I look forward to seeing what Ritter does next.
PS: It’s interesting to note that in “Three’s Company, ” his father played a straight man pretending to be gay; in Happy Endings Jason plays a gay man pretending to be straight.
Average Rating: 4.7 out of 5 based on 193 user reviews.
1982 was the very first year I gave out my unbelievably prestigious movie awards.
Picture
Gandhi
*E.T.
Tootsie
The Verdict
Actor
Peter O’Toole, My Favorite Year
Ben Kingsley, Gandhi
Paul Newman, The Verdict
Henry Thomas, E.T.
Dustin Hoffman, Tootsie
Actress
Julie Andrews, Victor/Victoria
Jessica Lange, Frances
*Meryl Streep, Sophie’s Choice
Debra Winger, An Officer and a Gentleman
Jo Beth Williams, Poltergeist
Supporting Actor
Lou Gossett, Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman
David Keith, An Officer and a Gentleman
Peter MacNichol, Sophie’s Choice
Robert Preston, Victor/Victoria
*John Lithgow, The World According to Garp
Supporting Actress
Glenn Close, The World According to Garp
Leslie Ann Warren, Victor/Victoria
Jessica Lange, Tootsie
Dana Hill, Shoot the Moon
Lanie Kazan, My Favorite Year
Lindsey Crouse, The Verdict
Ensemble Acting
Diner
Director
Barry Levinson, Diner
Richard Attenborough, Gandhi
Blake Edwards, Victor/Victoria
Sydney Pollack, Tootsie
*Steven Spielberg, E.T.
Sidney Lumet, The Verdict
Production Design/Cinematography
Cat People
E.T.
Victor/Victoria
The Dark Crystal
Poltergeist
Tempest
Tron
Blade Runner
Makeup/Special Effects
The Thing
The Dark Crystal
Musical Score
E.T.
Tempest
Victor/Victoria
Poltergeist
Cat People
Worst Films/Most Overrated
Making Love
Partners
Guilty Pleasures/Most Underrated
Creepshow
Cat People
The Thing
Tempest
Still of the Night
Only Worthy Sequel
Airplane II: The Sequel
Great Look Doesn’t Make a Movie
Tron
Blade Runner
Costumes
My Favorite Year
Sophie’s Choice
Diner
Victor/Victoria
Must-See Documentaries
Soldier Girls
Wasn’t That at Time!
The Atomic Café
Movie Man of the Year
Steven Spielberg
I reserve the right to refuse to choose winners in many categories; also to nominate as many things as I like in each category
Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 202 user reviews.
Over the next undetermined amount of time, due to underwhelming demand, I will be posting my movie awards from the past. Try not to pee in your pants with excitement. That would be gratifying but undignified.
Watch this space!!
Average Rating: 5 out of 5 based on 192 user reviews.
Pretension, anyone?
I’m not crazy about tattoos on my best day, but I’m growing truly weary of witnessing the proliferation of tattoos in the images of Chinese and Japanese pictographs. Ooo . . it’s so deep. Such a good scam perpetrated by the ink parlors. It’s in Japanese so it must be . . . deep!
Please. It’s the same thing as calling your New York snack shop “Bonjour Croissant;” it’s just looking in the opposite direction geographically.
I wonder how many of these illustrated would-be hotties even know what the translations of their characters mean?
I bet the reverse situation is just as bad. I picture kids in Shanghai and Tokyo running round town festooned with tattoos which bear English inscriptions such as “Me Love You Long Time” and “Diet Coke.”
Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 284 user reviews.
Joe Haldeman has been one of out best science fiction writers for thirty years. Why isn’t he more famous?
I became a fan of his because of his stunning 1976 book Mindbridge and his Hugo-winning 1977 short story “Tricentennial.” I’ve enjoyed his book immensely since.
Haldeman writes with a clear, concise and uncluttered, unpretentious style. His head is full of big ideas and he comes up with great “what if?” scenarios.
I’m thoroughly enjoying his most recent book, Marsbound, which feels like a tribute to the great pulp-era classics of Robert A. Heinlein of the 40s and 50s.
You should give him a read!
Average Rating: 4.6 out of 5 based on 272 user reviews.
Sweetheart:
I know that you don’t get that many requests for the sugar-free syrup. I know that having to go grab it gets you out of your rhythm.
But you know what? Those bottles of syrup aren’t usable right out of the box. No, really, they’re not! You actually have to screw off the spout, and then remove the freshness lid over the mouth of the bottle. THEN the magically delicious maltitol-based sweetness will pour happily out of the bottle.
I’m the customer. I shouldn’t have to do this myself every. single. time.
Thanks for your cooperation.
Average Rating: 4.4 out of 5 based on 191 user reviews.