BB 12/23/16

Good morning Phoenix! TGIF! Hope you’re all ready for the holidays, or ready for them to be over. *grins*
It’s time for a Friday Flicks. I have a new release holiday movie for you that is premiering today, and sounds hilarious. It’s called “Why Him?” and stars Bryan Cranston from Breaking Bad fame and James Franco, so it’s bound to be funny.
Plot:
Over the holidays, Ned (Bryan Cranston), an overprotective but loving dad and his family visit his daughter at Stanford, where he meets his biggest nightmare: her well-meaning but socially awkward Silicon Valley billionaire boyfriend, Laird (James Franco). The rivalry develops, and Ned's panic level goes through the roof when he finds himself lost in this glamorous high-tech world and learns that Laird is about to pop the question.
Trivia:
• According to Megan Mullally, the cast was given free access to improvise as much as they wanted to and eventually 240 hours of films was shot on camera, which had to be trimmed to 90 minutes for the final film.
• The 'Why Him' poster was featured in season 9 of How I Met Your Mother episode 12, air date 12/03/13 a full 3 years prior to big screen release!
• Based on UK television show "Cuckoo."
• Director John Hamburg was actor James Franco's professor at New York University.
There’s no known goofs yet, so if anyone sees it this weekend and spots one, let me know!
Have a fangtastic Friday, and wear your body armor if you have to do any last minute shopping! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 12/9/16

Morning Phoenix and TGIF! Welcome to another edition of Friday Flicks. Today’s selection is currently in theaters and stars Kate McKinnon (from SNL fame), Jason Bateman, TJ Miller, and Jennifer Aniston.
Office Christmas Party! It’s rated R, so not suitable for kids, but looks to be a laugh riot.
Plot:
When the CEO (Jennifer Aniston) tries to close her hard-partying brother's branch, he (T.J. Miller) and his Chief Technical Officer (Jason Bateman) must rally their co-workers and host an epic office Christmas party in an effort to impress a potential client and close a sale that will save their jobs.

Trivia:
• The title of the movie was inspired by an SNL skit called "Office Christmas Party"
• Both actresses Kate McKinnon and Vanessa Bayer are cast members of Saturday Night Live.
• Karan Soni and T.J. Miller have previously starred together in Deadpool (2016).
• Fifth collaboration between Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston. They previously starred together in The Break-Up (2006), The Switch (2010), Horrible Bosses (2011), and Horrible Bosses 2 (2014).
• The first part of the opening credits features stills, outtakes, and alternate lines

No goofs available yet.
This sounds like a fun movie for us grownups. Maybe I can get some of the warriors to come watch it with me.

Have a fangtastic weekend my friends! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 12/8/16

Happy Thursday Phoenix! It's time for a Top 10, but it's going to be a Top 10 with a twist. This month's theme is all about Christmas.
This time, YOU tell us: What are your favorite holiday traditions? Whether they're serious or funny, or happened in the past, but no longer, list 'em here - It's an audience participation Top 10 day!
Have a fangtastic day! <3 Brock V"""V

 

 Karen Jones Sadowski Happy Thursday Brock!

Chris Smith Tradition since childhood - we always open gifts on Christmas Eve after a nice dinner, then have our big dinner Christmas Day. When my mother still was at home, and my sister was alive, we would see which one of us could make my ultra religious mom swear first. (we were adults at the time)

Peggy Foye Cooking with mom

Andrea Harder Baking with my kids. :)

Geneva Vaughn We always could open one gift on Christmas Eve then all the rest Christmas Day. Then we went to the grandparents house.

 

BB 12/2/16

Afternoon and TGIF Phoenix.  It’s time for some Friday Flicks.  I’ll be highlighting Christmas and Christmas themed movies this month.

After my post yesterday, one of the comments about favorite holiday movies was Polar Express.  That’s the one I’ll highlight today.

Plot:  This is the story of a young hero boy on Christmas Eve who boards on a powerful magical train that's headed to the North Pole and Santa Claus's home. What unfolds is an adventure which follows a doubting boy, who takes an extraordinary train ride to the North Pole; during this ride, he embarks on a journey of self-discovery which shows him that the wonder of life never fades for those who believe.

Trivia:

·         When the Hero Boy first meets the Hobo on the roof of the train, he is playing the carol "Good King Wenceslas." The story of Saint Wenceslas I, Duke of Bohemia is that of a king braving the harsh winter to bring alms to the poor on the Feast of Stephan, December 26th. His page finds he can't go on through the harsh conditions and is directed to walk in the footprints that the king has made in the snow. The Hobo directs Hero Boy to follow behind him and ultimately helps him reach the engine before they make it to the tunnel, thus allowing him to find and help his friend. This is also a representation of the Holy Spirit idea of the Hobo, that he guides those who believe in Him to safety, even in perilous times.

·         The address spoken by the conductor early in the film "11344 Edbrooke" is the real address of Robert Zemeckis' childhood home. The home is in a south side of Chicago neighborhood called Roseland.

·         A close examination of all the ticket numbers reveals that they all contain the number "1225" in them. Pere Marquette No. 1225 was used as a model for the Polar Express locomotive. 12-25 also refers to the date of Christmas - December 25th.

·         When Hero Boy falls asleep, the clock in his bedroom reads 10:20 - the same time as the clock in Scrooge's bedroom when Marley's ghost appears, in the Alastair Sim version of A Christmas Carol (1951).

·         The Polar Express is another Christmas Carol movie. Hero Boy is Scrooge and doesn't believe in Santa anymore causing the 3 ghosts of Christmas (the Hobo, Conductor, and Santa) to change him forever. The Hobo is the Ghost of Christmas Past, and plays the role of Christmas Future. He tries to intimidate Hero Boy into changing his ways using only himself instead of the future. The Conductor is the Ghost Christmas Present and is in charge of keeping order in the present to get Hero Boy to Santa. Finally, Santa is Christmas Future and changes Hero Boy forever, like Scrooge was. They even pay homage to Dickens' classic by having a Scrooge puppet dance on screen briefly. (Controlled by Christmas Past)

Goofs:

·         When the train runs into the caribou, the noise they are making is actually that of elk.

·         Know-It-All states that the train is a Baldwin 2-8-4 locomotive built in 1931. The Polar Express was modeled from plans of Pere Marquette 1225 which is a 2-8-4 type built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1941.

·         Throughout the movie, the number of cars on the train changes, from just three, to as many as eleven plus. This is most obvious when the hobo and Boy are skiing on the roofs of the cars, and when they are on the ice tack.

·         The first time the Boy goes downstairs on Christmas eve there is a red snowman skirt on the tree. Then on Christmas morning, as the train is going around the tree the skirt on the tree is yellow kind of color and has bells on it.

·         All the characters when they ring the bell hold it by the bell instead of the ribbons. The bell will not ring if this is done.

Have a fangtastic day and start to the weekend everyone.
<3 Brock V"""V

BB 12/1/16

Good morning Phoenix! Happy Thursday and Happy December 1st! For the Thursday Top 10, here’s the top 10 Christmas movies per rottentomatoes.com. Ready? Here we go….

10: Arthur Christmas
9: Die Hard
8: The Nightmare Before Christmas
7: The Apartment
6: Tangerine
5: Stalag 17
4: The Shop Around The Corner
3: Holiday Inn
2: Miracle on 34th Street

And number 1 - *drum roll*

It’s A Wonderful Life

Some of these wouldn’t normally be considered Christmas movies, but they took place during Christmas, so they made the list.

How about you? What’s your top go-to faves for Christmas? Personally, I prefer comedies, such as National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, or Home Alone. I think the kid in Home Alone pulls such epic pranks, he’s got to be related to Kade. Yup – no doubt.

Have a fangtastic Thursday! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 11/25/16

Good morning Phoenix! Today is Friday, so it is time for another edition of Friday Flicks. Christmas Day is 1 month from today. Who’s done with their Christmas shopping? Who hasn’t started yet? *grins*
Today’s selection is playing now in theaters: Bad Santa 2. It took them only 13 years to get this sequel out. Billy Bob Thornton reprises his role as the title character, with Kathy Bates as his mother.

Plot: Fueled by cheap whiskey, greed and hatred, Willie teams up once again with his angry little sidekick, Marcus, to knock off a Chicago charity on Christmas Eve.

Trivia:
• In this film, Billy Bob Thornton plays the son of Kathy Bates. In reality, he is only seven years younger.
• Brett Kelly (AKA Thurman Murman) will return; he is 22 years old now. Brett Kelly was slimmer after becoming an adult but gained more than 40 pounds to reprise his role as Thurman. He consumed many smoked meat sandwiches in Montreal, where the film was shot, to quickly obtain the desired weight.
• Willie claims his birthday is August 4th in the film. This is actually Billy Bob's birthday.
• Lauren Graham could not reprise her role as Sue, due to her commitment to the Gilmore Girls revival on Netflix.

Goofs: None yet reported.

This movie premiered 2 days ago. Has anyone seen it yet? If so, what did you think of it? If it’s a real bad Bad Santa, save us the money!

Have a fangtastic Friday! <3 Brock V"""V

BB 11/24/16

Good morning Phoenix family and friends! Happy Thanksgiving to those of you from the States (and a very happy Thursday to those of you living elsewhere). Today's top 10 is our wish for you on a day that is normally spent with family and food.
1. We wish you good times with family.
2. We wish you good health.
3. We wish you have enough to eat.
4. We wish you have a place to lay your head.
5. We wish you memories in the making.
6. We wish you safe travels.
7. We wish you love and happiness.
8. We wish you a close parking spot if you are going shopping later.
9. We wish you plenty of friends.
10. We hope you will always be our friends.
<3 Brock V"""V