Conan - Punxsutawney Dr. Phil

Is this funny? Is it stupid? It's both! It's so stupid that it's funny...

The Super Bridges

As always, I have an ongoing project to boycott the Super Bowl as long as I don't have a rooting interest (Pre-2011, 2011, 2012, 2013). This year's Super Bowl replacement activity was..... watching "The Bridges of Madison County".

This movie came out in 1995 and got a lot of press as being a tremendous "chick flick". I had never seen it but was always curious about it so it seemed to be the right thing for the Super Bowl.

"The Bridges of Madison County" is about the bridges of Madison County. Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood star as bridges #1 and #2.

"The Bridges of Madison County" is about a housewife (Meryl Streep) who has an affair with a photographer (Clint Eastwood). She finds true love but must decide whether to follow it or stay with her family.... And that's pretty much it. It's a very simple story told in pretty tight confines - it's the type of movie that could have easily been a play (even though it really wasn't).

Meryl Streep is as excellent as always and Clint Eastwood is good too. There isn't a whole lot to say about this movie... it's a simple story, well told. It's somewhat sensual or erotic and it kind of becomes a tearjerker at some point. The whole movie depends entirely on the chemistry of the two leads and that works.

Conclusion: Definitely better than "The Notebook", probably not as good as "Steel Magnolias". Although, with that last one, it's kind of an "apples and oranges" situation.

7/10.

Movie Review: Nebraska (2013)

Nebraska (2013)

I went to see "Nebraska" at the theater at 9PM on a Tuesday and crossed two items off my bucket list. I don't really have a bucket list, but you know... Firstly, it's in black and white and so I saw a black and white movie in the theater for the first time (as best I remember). Secondly, I've always wanted to go to a movie and be the only one in the theater and that's exactly what happened with this movie. The movie theater must have known that no one was watching because they left the house lights at 100% for the first 20 minutes of the movie. But it was alright.

As the for the movie itself, it's a great movie. Bruce Dern plays an old man who gets a "Publisher's Clearing House" type letter in the mail and believes he must get to Nebraska to claim his million dollars. He's also possibly slipping into senility and Will Forte (friggin' Will Forte), as his son, must deal with the consequences. It's very subtle, very minimal and it's both a great drama and a great comedy. It reminds me of "Lost in Translation" in many respects. I especially loved the the black and white photography on the big screen - it looks amazing.

7/10.

Late Night - The Passing of the Pickle

It's a Late Night tradition that when a new host takes over, the Late Night Pickle gets passed to the new regime. In about a month, Jimmy Fallon becomes the new host of the Tonight Show and Seth Meyers will be the new host of Late Night***. And so it's time to pass the pickle.


On a personal note, I think Seth Meyers is a funny guy but I'm not sure whether I'll be watching his show. We'll see what happens...

*** All of this is dependent upon NBC not acting as stupidly as NBC usually acts and also upon Jay Leno actually going away this time. Are we really confident this will happen? I'm not.

Conan Talks to Interns

Conan has a lot of interns working for him. In a very special remote, he talks to them about what it's like to do what they do...

Conan - Jordan Schlansky Gets Organized

Conan feels Jordan Schlansky's office is dangerously unorganized so he hires a professional organizer to help him get his act together.

Any time Conan visits Jordan Schlansky, it's just money in the comedy bank.