Spring time in Summer? You know one thing you learn very quickly while living in Southern California ... the weather is not like other places. We have no consistency from year-to-year and we have no real seasons except that of Summer time. This past week it felt like what Spring would be with nice days and very cool to cold nights. This coming week it is suppose to heat up but how accurate will that be? It has been fairly good the past year in general with predictions but you can never get 100%. I wonder when we will be living in the a dome or have the technology to change the weather when we need it or vote what each day should be, that will be interesting!
Weekly Update:
On Sunday morning we lost yet another great actor and director in the business we call Entertainment. The legendary Richard Attenborough passed away. He is more recently known for his role in "Jurassic Park" but his list of credits is a little surprising and often forgotten. Some of his big roles include "The Sand Pebbles," "The Great Escape" and "Miracle on 34th Street" to name a few. He was also a very accomplished director as well. He directed such greats as "A Bridge Too Far," "Cry Freedom," "Chaplin" and "Gandhi" for which he won an Oscar for Best Director and Best Film that year. Attenborough was 90.
At the movies:
In it's 4th week, "Guardians of the Galaxy" manages to take back the crown for a power-struggle weekend earning another 17.6 million and a cume of just over 250 mil. It will be a struggle at this point to hit the 300 mark but do-able with Labor Day Weekend still coming up. Slight drop to #2 is "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" with another 16.8 mil as it tries to reach 200 mil but may just fall a bit short. New at #3 is "If I Stay" with a solid 16.4 mil and right on par with predictions. Holding ground at #4 is "Let's Be Cops" with another 11 mil this past weekend. New at #5 is "When the Game Stands Tall" opening with a decent 9 mil, a little below expectations but the film could have some decent legs on it.
New movies that did not make the top 5:Just one this week and in a major upset, in at #8 is "Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For" which only earned 6.5 mil, WAY below any expectation. I had a fear people would not care for the mock-noir style of film and then you throw in end-of-Summer trips, the box office couldn't help this one.
Quote of the week:"There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist." - Mark Twain
Facts & Tips:The Statue of Liberty features 7 points in her crown- one for each of the continents.
"See I really couldn't sing, I could never really sing, what I couldn't do is ... " - Harry Shum, Jr. as Mike Chang in the TV series "Glee."
The heat continues!!! What is worse is the heat is here, the nights are still cool but our drought has gotten so much worse. With the rain levels so far this year being dismal, remember our past Winter was basically a light Summer?? The showers we did get only lasted hours to minutes, nothing really lasted more than a day and our reserves are nearly empty. We need water desperately in the So Cali region but we can't just make rain happen. I don't have two-bits to spend on a rainmaker to get the party started and I don't think their rain seeds work ... oh but how I wish they did! I think just about every city in the the South land would invest in them, buy them, build them ... use them!! But then we would also become a swamp or something with too much moisture and water ... oh the irony.
Weekly Update:
This week was a bit more calm after last week filled with sadness. Not saying it was all good or bad, just saying it was a bit better. But aside from that ... yet another boring week in general. I did manage to do a bunch of errands but that was about it ... drove all over town, dropped this off, picked this up, delivered this. I felt like a combo taxi and delivery service at times. Was just missing the little horn (meep meep) and the reverse beep beep beeping noise!
At the movies:
The heroes in the half-shell were able to defend the crown this weekend as "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" earns another 28.4 million and gets past the 100 mil cume mark. Look for a pretty quick burn after this weekend though as we wrap up Summer. Also holding ground at #2 is "Guardians of the Galaxy" bringing in another 24.7 mil for its third weekend as it pushes its way past 200 mil! New at #3 is the comedy "Let's Be Cops" as it debuts at 17.7 mil for the weekend (26.1 mil total with a Wednesday opening) and word-of-mouth isn't strong on this film. In at #4 is the big budgeted action film "The Expendables 3" earning 16.2 mil which is on the low-end of the prediction range. Talks are already on for a 4th installment, this film must be big overseas to warrant it. Rounding off the top 5 is "The Giver" with a respectable 12.8 mil and could see a little longevity at the box office before the Summer is over.
Quote of the week:
"There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist." - Mark Twain
Facts & Tips:
You can tell which day a loaf of bread was baked by the color of its plastic twist tag.
"I must break you." - Dolph Lundgren as Ivan Drago in "Rocky IV."
Summer time ... it here. A bit more humidity but not terrible but still very warm. Still the nights remain cold, thank goodness, but it doesn't really hit till after 9 or 10PM. Well, I guess it could be worst but now that I said that, I hope I didn't just jinx it all!!! I guess as long as we don't have humidity, we will survive! Humidity is just down right nasty and so very uncomfortable.
Weekly Update:
This was a very sad week not by just me but the world. On Monday Hollywood (and the world) lost a big chunk of laughter as legendary and acclaimed comedian, Robin Williams, passed away. From initial reports it looks like it was an apparent suicide. It was no hidden secret he suffered from depression but he never let it slow him down or stop him from making everyone around him happy. He would fight and claw to get someone to laugh or smile ... I wish we could have done the same for him. His list of films credits is very expansive but I remember when I first saw him on TV, the show "Happy Days" when he played a visiting alien named Mork. That character later went on to his own show and there I enjoyed watching him again once a week for half an hour. He later went on to movies and one that stands out the most for me right now is "Good Morning Vietnam!" where he portrayed a real shock jock in the military during the Vietnam War. The world lost a big chuckle and like in "Dead Poet's Society" I say to you sir, "Oh Captain My Captain." Robin was 63.
Then just a couple days later we lost another Hollywood icon from the silver screen as Lauren Bacall passes away. She was a big part of the Golden Age of movies starring in films with John Wayne and Humphrey Bogart. Her sultry voice was distinct and she can be seen alongside other Hollywood legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable in "How to Marry a Millionaire." She had a haunting yet beautiful stare that was almost a siren's call or a Medusa's gaze ... seemed wrong yet you felt right gazing upon her. Other amazing credits include "The Big Sleep," "Murder on the Orient Express" and "Dogville." One of her most iconic and famous lines, not just her but in all movie history, was to Humphrey Bogart in "To Have and Have Not" as she was leaving the room ... "You do know how to whistle, don't you Steve? You just put your lips together and blow." She was 89.
At the movies:
Just when we thought Summer may be over and the box office was down, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (shell) shocks us all!! Hitting a big #1 as it overshoots all estimations with a nice 65 million for its debut. Still going strong but dipping to the #2 spot is "Guardians of the Galaxy" with an extra 41.5 mil as it makes it way to the 200 mil cume mark. New at #3 is Into the Storm and some last minute adjustments brought its estimation way down ... I am not sure where those initial numbers came from but it only hit 18 mil for the weekend. Also new at #4 is The Hundred-Foot Journey which hit well within expectations at 11.1 mil. Rounding off the top 5 is "Lucy" earning another 9.3 mil as it is so close to 100 mil cume and should hit that by the end of this coming week.
New movies that did not make the top 5:
Just one this week as the Step Up All In franchise comes in at #6 with 6.6 mil, a bit below expectations but it was a busy weekend otherwise!
Quote of the week:
"America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism." - Martin Luther King, Jr.
Facts & Tips:
Ferret comes from the Latin word for little thief.
"When I think about everything we've been through together, maybe it's not the destination that matters, maybe it's the journey, and if that journey takes a little longer, so we can do something we all believe in, I can't think of any place I'd rather be or any people I'd rather be with." - Garrett Wang as Harry Kim in the TV series "Star Trek: Voyager."
And the heat continues on! It even brought some rain with it which was really nice but very little, we need some major t-storms and down pours for days please! I don't want to run the AC because that uses so much electricity plus the fact it feels odd to have it running all day and then turn it off at night, open the windows and let all that created cold air go out the window. Is it just me or does that seem odd to anyone else? Anyone? Anyone? But I will say this, the humidity has been bringing some crazy clouds like it should be cold and going to rain soon ... but no cold. Just rain ... would like a lot more of both please, we can really use it!
Weekly Update:
So this was a little interesting of a week. Went to visit an old friend and in that course, we ended up staying to watch the Chelsea Lately show which, I have to say, runs like a well-oiled machine in just under 25 minutes flat but watching her do a monologue, she is completely dead-pan boring. The round table of guests were over doing it for the most part and the main guest was Kelsey Grammer who seemed nice but alas, did not get to met him. I just realized that is the third time he has eluded me but this particular time was the closest I have gotten to him, oh well, perhaps another time and place. But other than that, the week was for the most part quiet as usual ... boring and quiet.
At the movies:
And the winner is .... no surprise at all as Guardians of the Galaxy hits BIG with a solid 94 million to open. Way above all expectations and Disney/Marvel continues to steamroll all the competition in this film genre! Holding ground at #2 is "Lucy" with another 18.3 mil as it gets closer to that 100 mil cume and should reach it in the next couple of weeks. New at #3 is the bio-pic Get On Up with 14 mil, almost on point for opening expectations and should do well overall. Drop to #4 is "Hercules" with 10.7 mil extra and just no more muscle in this film to carry it further. Rounding off the top 5 is "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" with another 8.7 mil as it struggles to reach 200 mil cume but should hit it sooner than later.
Quote of the week:
"Get your criminal attorney now. Should something go south, you won't have the luxury of shopping around." - Paula Poundstone
Facts & Tips:
Louisiana is home to over 80% of the world's crayfish.
"*Him*? You fell in love with a boy?" - Abigail Breslin as Olive Hoover in "Little Miss Sunshine."
