When your shoulders and neck start hurting from playing way too much Little Big Planet, or when you’ve used all the different material options and outfits for your energetic little Sackboy, or when you’ve taken pictures after pictures of his different exploits, or when you’ve redone levels after levels because you finally unlocked the sticker you needed to get a better score, well, it’s time for a break. Sure there’s Wii Fit at your reach, but that’s now become a morning ritual. So what’s a boy to do during the rest of his days off on this nice holiday break? Seem like the answer is to sit down, on that very same couch, and watch movies.
We’ve done a lot of that in the last two weeks, we’ve seen some new stuff released on Blu-ray, some older stuff on dvd (or even on video as I still have lots of them stashed away), some of them movies, some of them documentaries, some of them TV shows… Thanks to Wii Fit, I can still make the blood flow and move around but mainly I’ve been Couch-Potato-King lately…
During this television orgy, 3 different DVDs have stuck out more than the rest, 2 older movies and 1 TV show I was more than happy to discover:
Number One Holiday Movie Fun:

I saw this movie when I was in grade 9 and it totally enthralled me, I remember making a review of it in my “religion” class as we talked about “evil” things… I don’t think my teacher was really impressed, but I know I convinced a few people to go see it.
Watching it again after so many years just showed how this movie was well-crafted and smart and wouldn’t benefit at all from an infamous remake. It’s great just the way it is. Well, maybe the finale would be a little better today with some extra digital special effects, but that’s it… the rest worked so well the way it was made. This was one of the very first movie to kill one of its stars, I mean Hitchock had done it in Psycho I know but I had not seen that movie yet as I sat in the dark theatre with this loud black car ridding the road of those pesky cyclists or french horn player hitchhikers. See this movie again (or for the first time).
Number Two Holiday Movie Fun:

How sweet to see a movie where homosexuality is normal, no one questioning it, no one opposing it, no vilains, except maybe the main character’s insecurities and undecisiveness, or even maybe his big city agent not understanding his need to be with family in time of needs. Then again, not even this mean agent has a problem with homosexuality, she just wants her artist back for gallery openings… and shit.
It’s a sweet movie to watch and there is at least one kleenex moment. I’ve warned you. It made me happy to revisit this movie 10 yrs later, I had forgotten the “magical” feel of it. See this movie for the first time (or see it again).
Number One Television Show Holiday Fun:

My good friend Magz gave me a copy of Season One for Christmas We sat down on Jan 1st to see if we’d like it and watched 8 episodes in a row, yeah, we liked it a lot. So much so, we bought Season Two yesterday. I cannot wait to see what happens next. It’s clever and fun and gory and sexy and takes place in one of the USA’s best locations: Miami. What’s not to like!
DR said he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to not think of David Fisher from Six Feet Under while watching Dexter’s star Michael C. Hall, but trust me, a few minutes into Dexter and it’s clear this actor has range and won’t fall back into the depressed selfish character he was starring as before. Buy this tv serie (don’t rent it, you’ll want to own it).
Of course, to poor DR’s dismay, I don’t limit my television watching to the couch, I watch at least one episode of this gem in bed every night before going to sleep:

And I laugh every night too, makes for sweeter dreams. But secretely I think he’s enjoying it too, well, at least a lot more than this other gem I was watching in bed every night before:

Pete Malloy was one of my first crushes as a kid.

I loved season 1 of Dexter and thought it would be hard to beat in season 2 but I think they did a good job of coming close to equalling season 1. HBO has put out some great series – I also liked Rome and Carnivale a lot as well as Breaking Bad (Warner Brothers?).
If Pete Malloy is the one on the left – I totally agree.
Yeppers, that’s him on the left…
Breaking Bad I loved, but the SBoy didn’t get into it as much as I. Glad they’re making another season.
How can SBoy not like Breaking Bad?? It’s also “clever and fun and gory and sexy” Well maybe not sexy and it doesn’t take place in Miami.
Yeah – its too bad when they cut a series short (like Carnivale, Arrested Development and Dead Like Me) – but then other series seem to go on past their prime such as Battlestar Galactica (although I will watch it to the end – hopefully they’ll make it worth my time!)
big eden rocks. great flick
Dexter is such a great show. Have you seen True Blood? It’s sorta similar in that it’s a bloody show set in a hot place. I guess. But I started watching it recently and it’s pretty awesome too.
Have loved Dexter from the start, the 4th? season just finished before Christmas (Michael Hall is a fellow North Carolinian!) Loved ROME, but they cut it short one season and compressed the second seaon as a result. Love True Blood, and its coming back for a season two…The Tudors has been great as well (on cbc?). Season three of that I believe is set for February.
I didn’t think Breaking Bad was not good, I just didn’t put any effort in watching it, you know, meth lab??? A bit too Gay Toronto for me.
Big Eden does rock.
True Blood will most likely be next on the list after we manage to go through Dex Season 3 before they yank it off Rogers On Demand.