Harry Potter Fans Seek Grief Counseling After the End of an Era and the Death of Their Childhood Hero - Video

When you think about it, any kid under eighteen-years-old has spent a lifetime with Harry Potter and his friends.

Eight books, eight films, computer games, lunch boxes, 10+ years, $6 billion in worldwide sales, and there will be residuals for all the grownups for years to come.

As of Tuesday, Deathly Hallows had grossed over $525 million worldwide to make it the single best first week movie opening ever.

The first Harry Potter movie was “The Sorcerer’s Stone” and came out in 2001 – shortly after the first J.K. Rowling book was released.

And millions of kids are obsessed with Harry, Hogwarts, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, Lucius and Draco Malfoy, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and the worlds most hated villain ever - Lord Voldemort.

These are names that every kid has known for years, and the world has indeed, fallen in love with everything Harry Potter.

That’s what makes The Deathly Hallows so difficult for some children – they feel like they have just lost a lifetime friend to the dark side of evil.

Watch Harry Potter - A Look Back...


Remember how you felt as a child watching young Bambi getting injured, and the possibility of never seeing her mother again. Did you cry?

Now, multiply that feeling by about a million and stretch it out over ten years.

That’s what some child psychologists are saying will happen with the death of Potter. They say the death of Harry resembles the same emotions that a child feels after they lose a close family member to death, or after the loss of a cherished family pet.

Doctors say there may be a silent impact on some children’s brain as they slowly realize they will never see Harry again.

And that has them worried.

In fact, some schools across the country are setting up “grief stations” during their summer sessions so children can talk to psychologists about their “loss”.

Other schools have consulted with specialists about how to deal with the long term effects of their summer session students coming to grips that they have lost a cherished childhood friend.

“It can be traumatic. They know it’s only a movie but their grief bubbles to the surface and they don’t know how to deal with it. Their grades can suffer and their social world can come crumbling down like a ton of bricks.”

Teachers and staff say they will be on the lookout for sudden drops in grades, irritability from normally stable kids, non-social behavior, and loss of interest in school, sports, and friends.

“Some children may not even realize or understand what is happening. All they know is Harry is gone and they don’t care about anything else anymore – friends, family, grades, or sports. These are the signs we will be looking for.”

J.K. Rowling seems to understand that you can’t just kill off Harry and expect things to be normal. She has already said she will continue to release “Potter” games, writings, and a website dedicated to everything Potter that emerges fans into an online social world of Harry Potter called Pottermore.

Watch Deathly Hallows Movie Trailer


Experts say this will help, and may actually spawn a new industry designed to keep the memories alive.

“Now you will have fans creating what’s called fan fiction and other cultural offshoots. There will continue to be a world of Hogwarts even though the movies have come to an end. Look at Star Trek, that legacy has lived on through comic-con, fan fiction, conventions, trade shows, and specialized websites.”

Now that the story has drawn to a close, some believe there will be spinoffs, sequels, prequels, and new books focusing specifically on still living characters like Hagrid, Hermione Granger or Ron Weasley.

Bottom line:

Our children are strong and will get past this brief hiccup in their emotional development. And it just may bring out new creativity that we can only imagine in pushing the continuing legacy of the world of Harry Potter.

It aint over yet….

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Related: Deathly Hallows Behind The Scenes Filming - Video

Twas a Sunday

So, while I sit here watching Holmes on Homes... well, let's be clear, I'm not watching it, I'd rather be watching "Hoarders", but its on, The Lovely Steph Leann has the remote and even though she doesn't want to turn it, she keeps dozing off.  Somehow, her condition now encompasses control of what we watch... like, we watched the last half of a Twilight movie, and the first half of the next one the other night.  I threw up in my mouth a few times, especially when Jacob took his shirt off... which was about 98% of the parts that I saw.

I would be totally afraid of Holmes coming to The Cabana.  Yes, its a home only about three years old, but still...

Update!  She just gave me the remote!  I turned it to "Hoarders".  Its the episode that we almost watched a week ago, but she made me turn it because the family in question has mice in their home.  We'll see if she puts up with this one.

When I want to make myself feel better about our living conditions, I watch "Hoarders".  We tend to keep stuff longer than we should.  But our home, like most others, is just cluttered.  Not packed and disgusting.  So I take solace.

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I got to see "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 2" again today.  The Lovely Steph Leann had not seen it, nor had other members of the family like Bro-in-Law Randy and Niece Maddie.  And yes, I wanted to see it again... and so did Melanie and her two young ones that saw it on Friday... her man Chris had not seen the movie and depending on who you ask, either he wanted to see it, or she wanted him to see it, but either way, The Z Five were there with us, watching Harry and his final appearance.  And we all loved it, some of us again.

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You might be thinking "He sure does talk about this Melanie chick alot", and yeah, its kinda true. What can I say?  Our family--that being The Lovely Steph Leann, myself and now Fiddy--and theirs have become close over the last year or two, with the Z Family being some of the most unselfish and generous people I've met in a long, long time.  Quite simply, they are good to us, and very helpful in so many ways.  I know The Lovely Steph Leann adores all three kids, Melanie and Chris.

As for me, I think Chris is a cool dude.  And I see Melanie an awful lot, most of that at work, but many times at family outings and such.  (seriously, we aren't stupid--its not like me and Melanie slumber parties at our respective homes or anything... its called boundaries, so stop your worrying) 

That being said, let me brag on Melanie for a second...  Well, she's awesome.  She's gorgeous and she's funny and she's a great mom and she's cool and she's hot and she's all those things... plus, she's one of my very best friends.  So yes, I do bring her up frequently on the blog site here, mostly because she's involved in half of my stories I have to tell. 

And if I ever get around to finishing my Coolest Things of 2010, I have she and her family ranked rather high, because they were a big part of last year, just like this one.  Its like, The Year of Melanie or something.

So there.

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"How Do You Know" (2010)
Reese Witherspoon stars as Lisa, a member of an Olympic softball team who didn't make the latest cut, and is now trying to figure out "what's next"... she's dating Matty, a Washington Nationals pitcher who is a cad and a pimp daddy and a jerk and selfish and all that, played in earnest by Owen Wilson.   Enter Paul Rudd, who's character of George stumbles into Lisa's path and her life altogether. 

While Matty is doing his player thing, Lisa's life is miserable, and George has his own set of problems due to the fact he's the center of a criminal investigation at his father's company where he serves as an exec.   The father is none other than Jack Nicholson, who is giving a typical "I'm Jack, I've made a dozen classic films and this one isn't important so I'm mailing it in..." kind of performance.

Now, this movie is not nearly as bad as you might think.  Made for $120 million, though I cannot for the life of me figure out why this movie cost 120 million (I did see that the salaries for the stars took up about $55 million alone), it only made back around $35 million or so, making it a colossal bomb at the box office.

However comma I thought the movie was kinda funny.  A little overlong, but still kinda enjoyable.  It completely relies on the charm of Owen, Paul and Reese, and though their chemistry might not be as great as you'd like, its the story itself that is lacking.  You end up wanting a little more from all of it, but overall, I was glad I saw it... I guess I was prepared to hate it, and I just couldn't do it.

Wait for it on cable, or spend a buck at the Redbox or something. 

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So, on this episode of "Hoarders", we are still watching the episode with the mice problem.  Its so bad, we just learned a new term for a disease that comes as a result of unattended rat droppings in the house.  The bug guy on tv said, "She thinks she's got four or five mice.  She has hundreds, maybe into the thousands." 

Not good times.  Bad times indeed.

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And that's my Sunday night.  Thanks for reading. =)

The Summer of Blogging Day Thirty Nine

Particulars of Harry Potter Characters Future Plans

Harry Potter characters

Not a long time Harry Potter film series, adapted from the novel the same title, will enter the final round. For a decade, Harry Potter fans were so noisy share a variety of reactions and emotions. They may feel lost. Because, however, watched all the film was the same as find the Harry Potter characters growth from childhood to adolescence.

The main character like Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione) and Rupert Grint (Ron), growing up without any major problems that commonly plague the young star. Now, after a series of wizards that end, we wonder: what will they do next?

Page hanfordsentinel.com ask you some questions to the three Harry Potter characters about the particulars of their future plans.

Harry Potter: Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Radcliffe has said that he would rest from all things that are matches. Harry Potter films has led him into many scenes of battles and adventures, and it was time to have a new image other than 'witch'.

He opened himself to undergo the role of a young stablehand who have a special spiritual relationship with the horse in "Equus" at the West End and Broadway. West End is a pocket theater in London, England, which is considered a privileged class. Position is considered the equivalent of Broadway, the United States.

In February, Daniel Radcliffe starred in a musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" on Broadway. Furthermore, he will play as a young lawyer named Arthur Kipps in a story about ghost, "The Woman in Black." He also has signed a contract to play a young photojournalist who was beaten to death by a mob in Mogadishu, Somalia, in "The Journey is the Destination."

Ron Weasley: Rupert Grint
Rupert Grint did not run out of energy produced several indie films such as, among other things, "Thunderpants." Another film, "Cherrybomb" is in the queue distribution. In addition, "Comrade," one of the many of his works, is expected to be aired in 2012.

There's more to the middle of another project in the pre-production phase such as "Eddie the Eagle," "Cross Country," and "Wartime Wanderers."

Hermione Granger: Emma Watson
In the gap between one Harry Potter movie with another episode, she provided the voice of Princess Pea in the animated film "The Tale of Despereaux" and the BBC-produced film "Ballet Shoes."

However, now she prefers to study hard for her education. Emma Watson lived in the United States and studied at Brown University, USA.

Of course, she plans to return to her role of the art world after finishing school. Latest film, "My Week With Marilyn", willing screened in cinemas this year.

The Potter Finale

The time is 1:32p.  I sit now in my recliner, Investigative Discovery showing Dateline NBC on the TV.  There's a bottle of water to my left on a Mickey Mouse coaster, and Leonard Matlin's Movie Guide 2011 on the arm of the chair.  Remote to my right.  Computer in front of me.  I sit, unable to relax, unable to focus on much of anything, except for the reflection that, a half hour ago, I was watching the credits to "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" as they rolled on the screen.  A half hour and two minutes ago, I was watching the movie adaptation of the famous Epilogue in the final book of the Harry Potter series.

And now I sit and think about how absolutely, positively amazingly terrifically awesome this movie was.  Because it was all of those things.

Now, I'm not someone who just likes a movie because it has certain characters in it.  Hurricane Rhett raves about "Transformers: Rise of the Fallen", the second in the series, even though I thought it was terrible.  People tend to love "Terminator: Rise of the Machines", when I thought it was useless.  That is to say, just because its a an addition to a series I love and enjoy does not a great movie make...

...but this is a case where, as Yoda might put it, "...a great movie makes it does."

Because this movie has been out in wide release now for, oh, 12 hours or so, I'll keep any spoilers secret... if you haven't read the books, then I won't tell you anything you would find out in the movie.  If you have read the books, then I'll allude to some things that you might know if you think about it, but I won't spell it out.  Spell.  Spell?  Get it?  Harry Potter is a wizard and he... well, spells and... spells?  Never mind.

(now, if you haven't seen the last movie, I can't help you.)

Ron, Harry and Hermione outside of Shell Cottage

The movie jumps right in where the previous movie left off, with ol' Voldy jacking up Dumbledore's grave in order to get the Elder Wand.  We then see Harry on a beach, outside of Bill and Fleur Weasley's home, Shell Cottage.   Harry is leaning over a grave, one that he dug as a result of the death that happened at the end of Part 1, and he joins Hermione and Ron inside the cottage. 

For the next 20 minutes or so, you get a little exposition--Griphook the Goblin is there to discuss the plan that Harry, Ron and Hermione are working on... that is, breaking into Gringott's Bank to retrieve a hidden item from a heavily guarded vault, the vault of Bellatrix Lastrange.  The trio then move over to the room where an ailing Ollivander, the wandmaker, sits, and he talks about the secretive Elder Wand and the possibility of its existence.

Get through this little bit of conversation between the characters, and the movie takes off fast, like a dragon flying through the skies of London.   And the action comes fast and furious. 

Part 2 covers the last half of the final book, which, as we know culminates with The Battle of Hogwarts, and oh what a battle it is.  Prof. McGonagall turns into a bada** (there is no other way to put it), and Hogwarts comes alive with defenses, magic and literally an army of students, teachers and others to protect their school.

The bad guys come in full force, with Voldypoo and Bellatrix leading the charge, as Dementors and Death Eaters surround the castle.  Once the force field is broken (oh come on, that's in the previews...), it's game on.

The war covers probably the final 45 minutes to an hour of the book, but in my mind, it wasn't even long enough.  Having read "Deathly Hallows" 3 times, I remembered several little details that the movie skimmed over, and the movie has its own ideas of who should live and die.  I was actually surprised at the death of one character, thinking, "Really?  They didn't die in the book, and certainly not like that..."

And when the war is over, when its all said and done, we see that Epilogue, that five minute scene that tells you everything is good, everything is right... that tells you All is Well. 

As usual, I had a few small issues with the movie--kind of a "I didn't like that that character didn't do this, like in the book", and "We never saw them do that in the book!" and "Interesting that the movie chose to do this situation that way".  I missed seeing more of The Weasley Twins, Prof. Slughorn and others, but we get a good dose of Luna Lovegood, more Seamus Finnigan that we've gotten in a long time, and a huge dose of Neville Longbottom--as it should be.  Alan Rickman also gets to sink his claws into Severus Snape as a major player, something he had always been in the books, but not so much in most of the movies.

From the Epilogue, Ginny and her husband, with their son, Albus
Severus.  I feel bad for that kid.

But, for the first time I think in any of the Harry Potter movies, I can say with complete honesty, there are things that happen in this movie that I actually liked better than the book.  I love the series, but have always had an issue with the somewhat abrupt ending to the war, after Voldy dies (oh, come on now, you knew he would die, I'm not spoiling anything--that's like saying "Batman beats The Joker in 'The Dark Knight' ruins that movie for you...), and I feel like this movie ends a little better.  Maybe still abrupt, but not as much. 

With so much going on, your favorite characters do make appearances, but sometimes with little to no lines... The Weasley Twins speak twice.  Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have a combined three lines--and I think she says them all.  Even Hagrid only has a handful... but because this is the end, we get alot of characters that have remained AWOL during movies that didn't concern them... Percy is back.  Cho Chang is back.  Lavender Brown comes back.  Pansy Parkinson is back.  Even Goyle is back (Crabbe's absence is never explained, though in real life, the kid who played him, Jamie Waylett, was busted for drugs, so the movie's producers dropped him altogether).  According to the cast list, apparently Oliver Wood, Cormac McClaggen, one of the Patil twins and Romilda Vane appear, but I guess I missed them.  Either way, the love gets spread around to everyone.

All in all, this is the best of the Harry Potter series.  I think if you have only seen the movies, you will have a few questions and you'll find a few holes... and if you have read the book, you'll be like me, and have questions that start with, "I wonder why they did/didn't..."   However, because of the scope and size of the book, I think you will agree that they did the best that could have been done.  The screenwriter, Steve Kloves, got it right... absolutely right, and almost perfect.

And as the camera panned away from Harry and Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and the familiar music came on and credit rolled, I had only one thought...

All is well.

The Summer of Blogging Day Thirty Eight

Ranking Harry Potter

Tomorrow, at 1130am, I will be sitting in a Rave Motion Picture Theater awaiting the beginning of the commercials that will proceed the trailers that will proceed the movie "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2".  Its the end.  The last Harry Potter movie.  And much like the completion of the last book, which for me occurred about 18 hours after the 2007 summer midnight release, it will be a bittersweet occasion.



Both my darling wife and one of my best friends are Potter Fanatics, so
I really have no choice but to be the same. 

 I actually am seeing it twice this weekend... the original plan was to possibly see it at midnight--but because of The Lovely Steph Leann has a real job, she can't do it.  So, we are going to see it on Sunday afternoon.  However, my dear friend Melanie invited me to come with her, Special K and The Zack Attack to see it Friday morning... after about, oh 3 seconds of deliberation, I said "YES".  I could have gone at midnight or tomorrow alone, but this one is a film you want to see with people, with fellow Harry Potter enthusiasts. 

Its the end of the era.  I was working at Carmike Cinemas at the Summit when the first movie came out, back in 2001.  I had not read the books at the time, and didn't start reading them until 2003, when the fifth novel, Order of the Phoenix had come out.  I devoured all five books released at that time in a matter of a few weeks, and have seen every movie released on opening weekend.

I even attended a Potter Party Release for the last two books, getting them both at midnight at Barnes & Noble.   Yep, I'm a Potterphile.  I said it.

The movies themselves have been hit or miss... none of them are bad, and in fact, several are great adaptations--the problem is, the books continued to get longer and longer, and that forced screenwriter Steve Kloves, who wrote all eight screen adaptations, to cut more and more out of the movie to keep them from being 7 hours long each--though to be honest, I probably would have sat through 7 hours to see Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix and especially The Half-Blood Prince to be done... well, for lack of a better word, better.

From first to last, this is how I rank the books:

1) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Book 5)... The creation of Dumbledore's Army is awesome, plus the intense Ministry of Magic battle makes for a great final 100 pages

2) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Book 4)... The linchpin in the book series.  This is where it goes from kid books to dark books.

3) Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Book 2)... Perhaps the most underrated of the books, I really enjoy this one... the exposition is done, and its a quick read

4) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)... I do miss time at Hogwarts, but the final battle is exhilarating and yet heartbreaking at the same time.  I do have issue with the fact that once its over, we don't see The Weasley's talking to Harry... it just kind of... well, ends.

5) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Book 1)... Its where it all begins, the introduction of characters, the opening of the world that JK Rowling created.

6) Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3)... The introduction of Sirius, but my main issue with this one is the fact that the whole bad turn at the end could have been avoided by either Lupin or Sirius saying, "Hey Harry, listen, this is what's going on..."

7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Book 6)... The Lovely Steph Leann loves this book, perhaps more than any other, though I didn't like Harry being stupid at the beginning, plus all the back story part.  The Harry Kisses Ginny part really makes it worthy, though.

That's the books... as for the movies, here's how I rank the movies, from last to first.  Now, understand, like the books, just because its last doesn't mean I don't like it... its like ranking Pixar films... well, now that "Cars 2" is out, that might be a bad analogy...

...okay, its like ranking Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream.  Cherry Garcia is my definite favorite, but if you offered me some Chunky Monkey or Phish Food, I'd take it and love it.  So just because its 7th, that doesn't mean I don't enjoy it...

7) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)... there are a number of problems I have with this film, as spelled out in my letter to Steve Kloves.  The main issue, though, is the Harry/Ginny debacle--and the fact that that scene in the book is one of my two or three favorite scenes in all seven books, the way it was done can truly be described as a "debacle".   I also didn't like the Snape "I am the half blood prince" revelation towards the end... seriously?  He doesn't mention even being slightly suspicious of Harry's work the whole book and then he says it? 

Not my favorite of the movies, but it is
one of my favorite posters

6)  Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)... This one would be more classified as a "Harry Potter Guilty Pleasure" film if anything.  Its remarkable how young the kids are, and the acting is a bit silly.  This is the last one Chris Columbus directed, and I'm cool with that.  Enjoyable, though, as Kenneth Branaugh's Gilderoy Lockhart is hilarious.  Also the first appearance of Dobby and Jason Isaac's brilliant Lucius Malfoy turn.

5)  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)... Everyone raves about Alfonso Cuaron's direction, and perhaps that's just because its different than the kiddie style that Chris Columbus took... it is better, I'll admit, but all the changes to the story are a little maddening.  David Thewlis is perfect as Professor Lupin, however, and is one of my favorite of the movie characters.  I still am bothered by the fact that at the end, when Ron, Hermione, Harry, Lupin and Sirius are all in the Shrieking Shack, all Lupin or Sirius has to even say is, "Okay, give me the rat, its an animangus, its actually Peter Pettigrew, I'm not going to kill Harry, I'm after Peter..." but he doesn't say that, it builds the suspense, Snape comes in, and all Ensley breaks loose.  Just seems like it could have been avoided, that's all. 

Plus... and maybe I'm in the minority here, but I liked Richard Harris' old Dumbledore over Michael Gambon's hippie Dumbledore.  Just sayin'.

4)  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)... This is where it all started.  Man, these kids look young--which, I guess they were.  Working the theater when this premiered was insane, as I had to hold back three hundred kids, moms and dads, and after the show, the theater was literally so trashed, I used a leaf blower on a backpack, started at the top and blew trash to the bottom so the lazy high school students could do their best and not work.  Great movie, though.

3)  Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)... This movie is where it sets in that in order to tell the cinematic story, they have to remove half the book.  Granted, taking out Hermione's S.P.E.W. subplot, arguably the weakest in the entire series, was great, but still, it was tough when the movie started on what was around page 110 in the book.  It was a time thing, though, and the Triwizard Tourney was awesome.  It was also great seeing Robert Pattison as Cedric Diggory, not as some gay sparkly vampire with commitment issues. 

2)  Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I (2010)... Last year, I did a full recap of this movie on this here blog site, and discussed first a spoiler free, than a spoiler filled recap, though there is plenty of notice before the spoilers start.  The more I think about this addition to the series, the more I like it... here's what I wrote:

Essentially, the film version, at least Part I, of "The Deathly Hallows", is a little like a table of contents.  You see a live action snippet of each scene that is fully fleshed out in the book itself,  something is allowable because the 140 minutes of the movie covers only about 300 pages, not 500 pages.

1)  Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)... My favorite book is my favorite Harry Potter movie.  Again, its not perfect, only due to lack of time, but I think it does the best job of making the necessary cuts to the book to fit the film.   It brings to the forefront Luna Lovegood, my favorite of the movie characters, and perhaps the only character I like in the movie over the book version, and of course, Ginny Weasley, one of my favorite characters overall. 

The Ministry of Magic battle happens and it looks brilliant, with Lucius Malfoy playing a key role.  And of course, the formation of Dumbledore's Army looks better than I imagined it when I read it in the book.  If it has any weaknesses at all, its the use of Professor Umbridge... one of the key moments in the book is when she tortures Harry by making him write with an evil pen, one that etches in the back the writer's hand as they write.  Harry makes it a point to not complain, even though there is scarring by the end.  In the movie, you see Umbridge making many of the students use such a pen, and it somewhat dilutes the torture given to Harry.  Just my own thoughts.  Anyway, my favorite of the movies.

But where will "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" rank among the other films?  I'll find out in about... 12 hours. 

Oh, if you missed a movie, or have forgotten what happens, here are The Fine Brothers on YouTube recapping all seven movies in seven minutes, in one take.   By the way, all the "We have no idea!" questions are legit questions if you have only seen the movies, but answered if you have read the books... for the most part, anyway...

  (there is a bleeped out F-bomb 3:22 in)

The Summer of Blogging Day Thirty Seven

Can you guess who it is?

Judging solemnly on this Picture, how old do you think this woman is?

She is 20 years old..... She is no other than  Bonnie Wright a.k.a. Gina/Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter series (a.k.a. Harry Potter future wife if I'm not mistaken). 

Suprised Much?

Bonnie, like Emma Watson (on one of her last covers on Vogue Magazine) is all grown up! These are two of the covers for HauteMuse. What do you think?

Ginny Weasley

Despite that she looks much older than she really is (due to the makeup), she still looks beautiful and very glamorous styled by Victoria Adcock. The Magazine will be out tomorrow July 15th .

Can you guess who it is?

Judging solemnly on this Picture, how old do you think this woman is?

She is 20 years old..... She is no other than  Bonnie Wright a.k.a. Gina/Ginny Weasley from the Harry Potter series (a.k.a. Harry Potter future wife if I'm not mistaken). 

Suprised Much?

Bonnie, like Emma Watson (on one of her last covers on Vogue Magazine) is all grown up! These are two of the covers for HauteMuse. What do you think?

Ginny Weasley

Despite that she looks much older than she really is (due to the makeup), she still looks beautiful and very glamorous styled by Victoria Adcock. The Magazine will be out tomorrow July 15th .

The 100 Coolest Things of 2010... #50 to 41

And we continue with the longest running list, not counting The Dave100, on this blog site... that being the 100 Coolest Things of 2010.  I won't bother with the recap just yet, you can find it to the right under archives...

50... Harry Finds a Hallow
After what I considered to be a disaster, though one I can still bear to watch, of the last movie (the post I wrote, by the way, "A Letter to Steve Kloves" is one of the most read posts on this here bloggy site), my expectations for "Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part I" were lower... but still slightly high, nonetheless.

Here's what I wrote on November 30th, 2010:

First and foremost, it holds a huge, huge advantage over any of the previous six films, and that is simply that this movie covers only half the book. The reason "Goblet of Fire" and "Order of the Phoenix" cut out almost half of their respective books is simply a time factor... you would have a six hour movie to cover everything ("Goblet of Fire" skipped the S.P.E.W. subplot, and was one of the few things I enjoyed about the movie versions over the books).

Essentially, the film version, at least Part I, of "The Deathly Hallows", is a little like a table of contents. You see a live action snippet of each scene that is fully fleshed out in the book itself, something is allowable because the 140 minutes of the movie covers only about 300 pages, not 500 pages.

You can read the full post here, but it continues to talk about the movie, first spoiler free, and then second, spoiler filled (though there are several alerts to tell you to stop reading if you haven't seen it).  I finished the post by saying, "Anyway, I really enjoyed the film, and have intentions on seeing it again. I said before my favorite movie character is Luna, but my favorite book character is Ginny Weasley... but I'm not sure I dig Bonnie Wright. I also think Fenrir Greybeck is fantastic in the book, but in the movie he's so marginalized and relegated to a second tier character.  Go see the movie, irregardless of whether you've read the book."

49... Via Napoli


Don't let the angle fool you.  This pizza is a monster, and this is taken
after four adults had just about had their fill...



What can I tell you about Epcot's newest restaurant?  Its in Italy, its authentic Italian, and its delicious.  I've eaten there twice, and its got some of the best pizza I've ever had, not to mention some of the best desserts I've eaten in a while.

Their food is a little pricey, but let's face it, its Disney, and all prices are a little higher than normal.  They ph-balance the water to match that of water found in Italy, as well as authenticate other ingredients to give you the freshest, purest form of Italian food... and their large pizza, $40 as it may be, will feed at least six people, if not more.  Its pretty awesome. 

48... Christians Like Stuff
So, Jon Acuff writes this blog, aptly titled Stuff Christians Like about being a Christian, and he asks tough questions like, what to do with the Christian version of "Freebird", or the problem with unrated movies on DVD... he's the author of several books, including one named after his website, and its a great read pretty much every day. 

47... Little Sister Ashley Gets a Ring
What can I say... my own adopted little sister (I got the looks in the family) got a ring on her finger from her hometown sweetheart, Brandon.  Apparently, he'd pined for her for years and years and years, and she gave him the cold shoulder... but one day, she woke up and said, "Whaaaa...?  I... like this guy!  No!  I love this guy!"



At top, its Brandon and Lil
Sister Ashley.  The bottom pic
features The Honorable Rev'rn
Ty "Sharpton" Coffey and Lori
Anne, bride to be.

 She stopped by my store and flashed the ring, then I immediately commanded her to go to The Cabana and show The Lovely Steph Leann, which she did. 

And this past May, we were able to attend the wedding, which I'm sure you'll read about in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011... at this rate, some time around September 2013. 

Which leads me to...

46... Ty Gives a Ring
Here's another engagement that rocks, and gets the slight edge over Little Sister Ashley's big moment if only because I was involved in the proceedings...  The Honorable Rev'rn Ty Sharpton called me up and asked if I would participate in his little engagement get-together, which involved me taking the ring from him and setting it up in Samford's chapel. 

It was a little intimidating, holding a ring that cost more than Toni Rocki Honda, my little car at the time.  He asked me to not open it, not to look at it, he wanted Lori Anne to be the next one to see it, and I obliged.  I was to place it on the podium of the chapel at a certain time, then hide when Rev'rn Ty and his bride-to-be, Lori Anne, came in. 

While I was waiting for the word from Ty, people came in and out of the chapel--Samford had a football game going on in the stadium across the street at the same time--and I sat off to the side in a pew, probably looking like an old creeper.  I held the ring box tightly until I got the text that said, "In chapel yard".  I was nervous about letting the ring leave my sight, but I put it on the podium then slipped out a side door.

I walked around the student break area until I finally got a text that said "ITS DONE"... upon my return, there was a big smile from Revr'n Ty, and a bigger smile from little Lori Anne, and the ring almost blinded me.   And I was also able to not just attend, but be a part of their wedding, which you'll probably see in The 100 Coolest Things of 2011 as well.

45... B.o.B. Professes His Love
By the summer of 2010, there weren't a ton of songs that had really piqued my interest, especially in hip-hop areas... cause really, they all kind of sound alike.  So, here comes "Nothin On You" by B.o.B. featuring Bruno Mars, with this profession of love for his boo, telling her that there are chicks all over the place, and that sure, they might be cute or he might say hello... but ain't none them ho's got nothin on you.  Nothing.

"Beautiful girls, all over the world, I could be chasin', but my time would be wasting, they got nothin on you baby (nuh nuh nuh nothin on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... they might say hi, I might say hey, but you shouldn't worry about what they say cause they got nothing on you, baby (nuh nuh nuh nothing on you... nuh nuh nuh nothing on you)... nothing on you baby..."

Keep in mind, this was the summer that both B.o.B. and Bruno Mars emerged, so I don't feel bad in telling you that for the longest time, I couldn't tell who was rapping and who was singing.  Perhaps I'm still not sure.

44... The Books Get Read
My love of audiobooks is well documented and deep, with probably 100 or more in my collection... I keep most of them, about 110 gbs worth, on an external portable hard drive, but on my iPod that I have with me about 97% of the waking hours of my day, I have at least 30 or 40 that I take with me, just in case I might want to jump into a random book, be it Kristen Chenoweth's biography (or Andre Agassi's) or maybe some Glenn Beck, or even a chick lit novel by Emily Giffen...

And then, I finally joined Audible dot com.  The way it works is, you pay one price per month and you are given "Credits".  Then, you can download audiobooks for a credit, or for larger audiobooks (like the Walt Disney biography I initially got, which was 35 hours--it was two credits, but I got it free for joining).  Every month, for $14.95, I get another credit...

Essentially, its buying an audiobook for $15 per month, but when you consider they are running anywhere from $25 to $50 per book, its a pretty good deal.  Also, for members, you get special discounts on books, sometimes half off, sometimes huge percentages off, sometimes free... I just downloaded "Go the Heck to Sleep" children's book (warning:  NOT Emmy Turnbow safe), narrated by Samuel L. Jackson, for no charge whatsoever...

And the selection is pretty great too.  I managed to get The Pixar Touch for less than $7, I got Patton Oswalt's comedic book for about $6 and downloaded "ESPN: Those Guys Have All the Fun" for May's selection for one single credit... regular price, $26. 

Randomly, just for thought, here's my current wish list, or, books I'll end up downloading or purchasing if they go cheap--in the order I'm going to get them:  "The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company Called Dreamworks" by Nicole LaPorte... "Decision Points" by Dubya... "Bossypants" by Tina Fey... "Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss and the Musical Rent" by Anthony Rapp... "Your Only As Good As Your Next One: 100 Great Films, 100 Good Films and 100 Films For Which I Should Be Shot" by Michael Medavoy

And if you think this was just a reason to go all Ron Burgundy and say, "Hey everyone!  Come look at the cool stuff I've been reading!"... well, you may be right.  Though if anyone has thoughts on any of these books, then I'd love to hear them--besides the predictable recoil by Brad Latta, Atty at Law, at the mention of Glenn Beck or Dubya. 

43... A Dragon Gets Tamed
Here's what I wrote about "How To Train Your Dragon" on June 6th, 2010...

"How to Train Your Dragon" follows the story of Hiccup, who lives in a Viking village where the life of a Viking is to hung and kill dragons of every size--and they are aplenty in this movie. Hiccup is a loser that is made fun of by most of the clan, mostly because his heart is not into hunting anything, much less dragons, but to please his father--who happens to be village chief, no less--he does what he can.

Hiccup ends up taking down a rare Night Fury dragon, but upon finding it in the woods, cannot bring himself to finish him off... and there, the adventure takes flight, pun intended.

I loved it. I loved every single second of this movie. I loved the main character, Hiccup, I loved his love interest, a spry pixie named Astrid, I loved the dragons, including the main one nicknamed Toothless, I loved the setting, I loved the creativity, I loved the story... I thought this movie was brilliant. This was the first time I'd ever seen a non-Pixar animated movie and thought, "This should have been a Pixar film."

The Lovely Steph Leann loved it too. As the credits began to roll, she piped up and said, "Wow. DreamWorks finally got it right." (full review is found here)

By the way, I watched this movie a few days ago on cable... it is just as good, great even, as the first time I watched it.  And that is a true test of a good movie.

42... A Town Gets Covered
Wow this is a big book.  Perhaps Stephen King likes to release a 1000 page behemoth every year, or maybe I just tend to read one--in 2009, it was "It"... and in 2010, it was "Under the Dome".

In the fall of some year after 2012, Dale Barbara, known as "Barbie", is trying to leave the small town of Chester's Mill.  Before he can get very far, however, something odd happens.  An invisible, indestructible barrier--a dome, per se--is dropped over the town, keeping everyone who's out of town out of the town, and everyone who is in the town, in the town.

Big Jim Rennie, second selectman, takes over the town, appointing his corrupt friends and sick, twisted son Junior as town officials, and does his best to try and contain the opposition, which includes Barbie and newspaper editor Julia Shumway.   Slowly but surely, the town's government falls apart as Big Jim's rule becomes more and more stern, and as his ego--and paranoia of losing control--spiral out of control.

Efforts to destroy the Dome fail one after the other, and everything from civility to law to just common sense begins to fall apart, piece by piece, little by little... its not a slippery slope so much as a straight up and down cliff. 

While the Dome is the central key to the novel, it is what happens to the town that becomes the book's plot.  The breakdown in civilization, the loss of respect and democracy... that's the book's central storyline.  When Big Jim realizes that not everyone sees it his way, its then that he begins doing whatever, and I mean whatever, is necessary to ensure his own rule is followed. 

King stated in an interview that he thought of Dubya when he was writing the character of Big Jim, but honestly, all I could think of was He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected... who gives a rip how it affects anyone, this is what I think is best, so this is the way we are doing it. 

Anyway, its a huge book, but I'd rank it up there as one of King's modern classics, and one I'll probably read again in the next year or two (it stays on my iPod just in case...)

41... Z's Serves the Burgers
Sometimes the best food you can find is in a nondescript hole in the wall place you've passed by a thousand times but never noticed its existence... and that would be Chris Z's to a tee. 

Nestled on a corner near St. Vincent's hospital, sharing the same block, if not the same wall, with the empty building that used to be Golden Rule BBQ (take a left off of Red Mt Expressway/Hwy 31 as you are facing St. Vincents), it doesn't have very much parking, and in fact, the best way to get to it is to drive past it, turn left at the light and come around the entire structure.

Walking in, you can see immediately that its family owned and operated... covering the walls in almost every space are frames, frames with single pictures of family, frames with duo photos of more family, large frames with collages of a dozen or more pictures of family and friends.  Being my close friend Melanie's husband, you'll see pictures of Melanie and Chris together.  You'll see the Z kids, Jay Z, Special K and The Zack Attack.  You'll see lots of people that sort of look like their family, and you'll see friends that you might recognize... or not.  

The cafe itself is set with not more than a dozen tables, mostly because there is no room.  Come at lunch time, you'll be hard pressed to find an open chair, but if you are an experienced Chris Z eater, you'll know this and will plan for it--either come earlier or later, or get it to go, or just stand and eat like many patrons do.

The menu is typed out in a familiar Comic Sans font, with some scribble with a marker and some tape over certain things, those manual corrections that the owner doesn't have time to make in the form of a new menu... no, there is too much food to make.  And the food is aplenty.

Hot dogs cooked to perfection, topped with everything or nothing at all, your request.  And the cheeseburgers are fantastic... my personal favorite is a Chris Z burger with mayo, mustard and ketchup, and cheese splashed all over the fries.  The Chris Z burger was actually recently named by a local magazine to the be the best burger in town, and its a well deserved distinction.

And then there is dessert... a family owned recipe for cheesecake pie.  That piece of pie kinda deserves its own ranking among the coolest things of the year, almost like a #40 1/2 spot... its amazing.  I've had cheesecake in six different states, ranging everywhere from the Carnegie Deli in Manhattan to the Baltimore Harbor... and its the best cheesecake I've ever had.

Anyway, if you are in the St. Vincents area, and you find yourself hungry--or even if you just want to find something new, check 'em out.  They also serve breakfast, which is excellent too... and that's not to mention their Middle Eastern menu they have the first Friday of every month.  Its good, good stuff.  (you can click here for more info)

Coming up... Hide yo' kids!  Hide yo' wife!  Its more of the best of 2010, now that 2011 is half over!  Yeah!  More Disney!  A DFC Champion!  And startin' fires...

The Summer of Blogging, Day Twenty Two

Emma Watson on the cover of Vogue

Boy Oh Boy, the girl is all grown up! On this issue of July of  Vogue magazine, Emma talks about the inevitable topic, that probbaly everybody is asking her and her fellow boys, Daniel and Rupert, her "Life after Harry Potter".

The last Harry Potter movie is coming out soon "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", it has been 10 years, WOW! 

You can definatly see an adult sexy Emma on this pictures, although I'm not crazy about the clothes thats she's wearing but I fo like the makeup. What do you think about her pixie haircut? I do admit, that in the beginning I wasn't a fan of it, but then I started to like, I guess it was a bit of a shock for me, I was used to see her with long hair, but in the end it suits her face shape.

What's your opinions and thoughts?

Images taken from Google pics

Emma Watson on the cover of Vogue

Boy Oh Boy, the girl is all grown up! On this issue of July of  Vogue magazine, Emma talks about the inevitable topic, that probbaly everybody is asking her and her fellow boys, Daniel and Rupert, her "Life after Harry Potter".

The last Harry Potter movie is coming out soon "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows", it has been 10 years, WOW! 

You can definatly see an adult sexy Emma on this pictures, although I'm not crazy about the clothes thats she's wearing but I fo like the makeup. What do you think about her pixie haircut? I do admit, that in the beginning I wasn't a fan of it, but then I started to like, I guess it was a bit of a shock for me, I was used to see her with long hair, but in the end it suits her face shape.

What's your opinions and thoughts?

Images taken from Google pics

A Nine Year Old's Rap Sheet

The summer movie season continues eating away at our budget intently, as two movies came up on the docket this weekend... the first came as a result of our nephew Benjamin coming to visit.  The 9 year old and his family live in Jasper, but they spend time here in B'ham with the in-laws (mine, not theirs) frequently.

One of the activities including him playing hours and hours of LEGO Harry Potter on the Wii, and another was a movie... "Kung Fu Panda 2".  Originally subtitled "The Kaboom of Doom", I'm kinda glad they dropped that and just went with the "2" part.

Anyway, I liked the movie as much as the first one.  Its premise basically surrounds a panda named Po (voiced by Jack Black) who, in the first film, learned he was a "dragon warrior" and was taught Kung Fu, and joined up with other members of the Furious Five, including Tigress (Angelina Jolie) and Mantis (Seth Rogan) and others.  For whatever reason, Grandmaster Flash wasn't included in this.

The bad guy this time around is an evil peacock named Shen, deliciously vocalized by Gary Oldman, and you'll hear other familiar voices like Jean Claude Van Damme, Dennis Haysbert and Danny McBride. 

The animation is wonderful, the story is solid and flows well and its perfect for just about anyone of any age.  You kinda wonder if there is an attraction between Po and Tigress, but the real relationship moments are between Po and his adoptive father, Mr. Ping.  You can tell its adoption when you see Mr. Ping is a goose. 

Po wonders who he is, knowing that a goose cannot be his real dad, and begins to question his family... and in a touching moment, Mr. Ping is forced to watch his beloved son Po walk away to battle. 

As far as Po's real family, they kinda do that movie thing where one of the main issues in the second movie is an issue they don't even address in the first one... sorta like, when you realize Riggs wife is dead in the first Lethel Weapon, its only a minor plotpoint they use to establish the character, but when Lethel Weapon 2 rolls around, it becomes a major point in the story.

Same with Po's real family--only used to establish Po's character in KFP 1, but in KFP 2, it becomes a plot point.  Guess you can do that with sequels... 

And man that 9 year old kid loves him some Panda.  And Bakugon.  And Bey Blades.  After the movie, then dinner at Chick Fila, we dropped the quickly tiring The Lovely Steph Leann off at The Cabana, then Benjamin and I spent some time first at The LEGO Store, then Toys R Us.

I do love The LEGO Store.  Of course, every time I go there, I look over at ABC Toys, where The Happiest Place in the Mall used to be, and I throw up a little in my own mouth.  Like I did last night.  Ended up walking out with three LEGO guys he built himself, and a couple of Harry Potter keychains I bought for myself.

At Toys R Us, he spent about 30 minutes in front of the Bakugon and Bey Blade aisle, touching just about every toy and telling me which ones he had and which ones he needed.   I listened intently, though I can't say I learned anything.

Should be noted that for whatever reason, he likes rap music.  I dont think he fully understands the concept of "rap music", other than its style, so I was forced to fumble through my car for something that he could listen to.  Luckily, I had a copy of "The Greatest" by LL Cool J, and was able to pop in "Mama Said Knock You Out", which he rather enjoyed.  My other other CDs in the car at that moment included Norah Jones, Sara Bareilles, Sarah McLachlan, Darius Rucker and, of course, Dwight Yoakam's Greatest Hits--$5.99 at Wal-Mart, I considered it a steal. 

Songs that I did manage to find on radio that made the cut were the edited version of "California Love" by Tupac and Dr. Dre... "Rocket 2 U" by The Jets... "Head Over Heels" by Tears for Fears... "Big Time" by Peter Gabriel... and "The Come Back Song" by Darius Rucker.  "You Give Good Love" by Pre-crack Whitney also came on, but he informed me, "I don't like slow songs.  I like rocker songs.  And rap music."

We got about 34 seconds into "Dre Day", but I was able to flip the channel just as I heard the syllable "Muth..." and saved the day.  Sometimes SiriusXM will censor, sometimes not.  And since I listen to 90s on 9 a heckuva lot, I was bewildered that because I hear "Hip Hop Hooray", "Gangsta's Paradise" and "Baby Got Back" repeatedly, I just knew I would catch one of them for Benjamin's listening pleasure... but when I needed them to come on, I got nothing.  Thats how I knew my life was outta luck, foo.

He did ask me if I had ever heard an Eminem song... I told him I had.  He asked me if I liked any Eminem songs.  I told him not many, though there were a few that I kinda liked.  He asked me if Eminem was bad.  I told him that yes, Eminem songs are pretty bad.  He asked me how.  I told him there was a lot of language, and that Eminem really liked to use lots of F-words.  He asked me, "What's an F-word?"  I changed the subject.

I finally popped in a CD that I had gotten from The Happiest Place in the Mall, one that included Hilary Duff, Aly & AJ and some High School Musical stuff.  Figured that was safe as anything. 

The line of night came when "Hoedown Throwdown" by Miley Cyrus came on... sadly, and I'll admit this to you--I know just about every word to it (and to "G.N.O." that came on later... which I'm guessing that besides me, only Hurricane Rhett would even know that stood for "Girls Night Out", much less know it by heart)... anyway, the song came on and Benjamin said, "Really?  Is this Hannah Montana?"

I replied, "Its Miley Cyrus, yes."

Pause.

"So... why are two guys listening to Hannah Montana?"

Touche.

Summer of Blogging Day Thirteen

A B@d Movie Trio

For whatever reason, I have a habit of sitting through bad movies.  Well, to back up and qualify that statement, I do like some bad movies...

I guess I call a "bad movie" as a movie that really... well, really isn't very good.  Maybe the movie is kinda dumb, maybe the plot is a little thin or inane or even stupid, maybe the acting or effects are pretty crappy... but sometimes, bad movies are fun.   As a matter of fact, as I type this, "Couples Retreat" is on.  Want to talk about bad?  Its stupid, the premise is ridiculous, but the movie itself is fun.  I'm fond of Malin Akerman, I enjoy Vince Vaughn and though its silly, its a good background movie--just turn it on, and go about your business at The Cabana.

Other movies that I watch frequently, even though most would consider them "bad"?  Dane Cook's "Employee of the Month"... "Four Christmases" with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn... "Leap Year" with Amy Adams (whom I'm in love with)... and I do enjoy "Grown Ups" with Adam Sandler and Kevin James.  All bad movies, all movies I can watch again and again.  And have.

There's a difference in "bad" and "Craptastic".  The former is described above, the latter is the same as bad, but with action, explosions, F-bombs   Like, "Con Air"... craptastic.  "Broken Arrow" with Travolta... craptastic.  "The Expendables"... perhaps the most craptastic, nay, craptacular movie ever made. 

So yes, there are good bad movies. 

Then... there are bad, bad movies.

And I saw three of them over the last few days... and I want to share my misery with you.  Of course, you will ask me, "d$, why watch such tripe, why put yourself through the torture of these moronic film ventures?"  My answer?  I just don't know.  I dunno.  Most of the time, when I invest 45 minutes into a movie, I just want to see it to its completion... and sometimes, I know its going to be such a bad film, it might be worth a blog. 

And here we are.

I've never seen "Traffic", but I hope that Erika
Christensen is better

First, let's talk about "Swimf@n"... 2002, its this story of this high school kid named Ben, played by Jesse Bradford, who is dating Amy (Shiri Appleby), but has a fling with Madison (Erika Christensen).  Well, Ben feels bad, but Madison is obsessed with him, and does everything she can to foul up his life so they can be together. 

All three leads in this movie are giving performances akin to making lemonade out of rotten lemons.   I feel like if you took the movie "Fatal Attraction", a far superior film", then sprinkled in Zack Morris and the gang, shook it all up, threw it some foul language and dark, moody scenery and then peed all over it, you'd get this movie.  It was kinda fun that it took place in 2002, before Facebook and MySpace took hold, when we were still AOL'ing it.  Well, no, that wasn't fun either.  This movie was bad.

I also giggle at the pretention of this film by using the "@" for the "a" in "Swimfan"... Madison is a fan of Ben, who is a swimmer.. she's a "Swim" "Fan"... get it?  And some of this movie takes place online, so hence, the "@" part... clever huh?  Yeah.  Its that bad.

Next, here's a movie called "Troll".  Because this movie was so bad, I ended up jumping onto Wikipedia to read about it and discovered that some critics call it "The Worst Movie Ever Made".   Now, I feel like I've seen worse (keep reading this post), but I can see where that argument would have some validity.

See that green ring?  It holds the Troll Power.  It comes
back later this summer in that Ryan Reynolds movie.

It stars a couple of no-names, but also this kid named Noah Hathaway--he is Atreyu from "The Neverending Story", a film that is pretty bad itself, but one that we tend to romanticize about how good it was because we all loved it when we were kids--anyway, Noah plays "Harry Potter".  No, that's not a joke.

As a matter of fact, the director, John Carl Buechler, was pretty unhappy when a few years later, some chick named J.K. Rowling used the name "Harry Potter" for a book she was writing.  Rowling claims she made up the name, and that its similiarity is coincidental.  Buechler says he thinks she stole it.   The guy who went on to direct "Friday the 13th VII: The New Blood" and "Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College", and is directing the upcoming "Troll" remake.  That guy. 

Back to the movie... its... its so bad.  This family moves into this house, and the little girl, sorta like Carole Anne from "Poltergeist", goes to the basement and sees this troll, who possesses her and then makes her go around the building and possess other people, including a horrible Sonny Bono, and has run-ins with people like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, in a pre-"Christmas Vacation" and "Seinfeld" role, which was also bad. 

The trolls are terrible, like costumes you could buy at The Spirit of Halloween on clearance day, and the effects are even worse.  And the dialogue is just bad, so, so bad.   The ending is just awful, and after it was over, I was actually happy.  I was happy it was done.  I could have turned it, but I wanted to see it through, and I did.

Finally, I flipped on the MGM Channel, and there was this random movie called "Motel Hell".  Rather than giving you my own description, let me just tell you what Wiki has as the plot:

When your terrible movie poster is the best
thing about your film, your film does indeed
have problems

Farmer Vincent Smith (Rory Calhoun) and his younger sister Ida (Nancy Parsons) live on a farm with a motel attached. It's called Motel Hello, but the O on the sign constantly flicks on and off. Vincent makes smoked meats said to be the most delicious in the surrounding area. Vincent's secret is human flesh, and Vincent has the areas around his isolated motel strewn with various booby traps to catch victims. The victims are placed in a 'secret garden' where they are buried up to their necks and have their vocal cords cut so they cannot scream; Vincent keeps them in the ground, feeding them special food, until they are ready and then kills them.

Its worse than it sounds.  I think I ended up watching it because there really was nothing on, and I was completely enthralled and fascinated by how utterly atrocious this entire movie was.  Farmer Vincent ends up falling for a chick who doesnt know his little secret, and the love grows until Ida gets jealous and it all goes bad and the chick's old boyfriend, who is the sheriff, shows up and it all goes bad for everyone and so on and so on and it actually is a thousand times worse than I'm even making it out to be.

And get this... at the end, the sign that says "MOTEL HELLO"... the "O" on the sign shorts out, and the film ends with the sign just saying "MOTEL HELL".  Get it?  Clever, huh?  Yeah.  Its that bad. 

Two notes... first, this film does have John Ratzenberger (his role after his epic turn in "The Empire Strikes Back").. and secondly, its got Rory Calhoun as its star, who later went on to star in my 133rd favorite film of all time, "Pure Country".  But neither Cliff Claven nor Rory can save this piece of poop.

PS... wanna see a good movie... no, a great, great movie?  Check out "Out of Sight" with George Clooney, Ving Rhames and Jennifer Lopez, before she sucked.  Its smart, its a sexy movie and its just plain cool... its my 30th favorite film of all time. 

Summer of Blogging, Day Eleven