Monthly Archives: February 2014

Weekly Roundup of Movie Memorabilia on eBay: The Creepiest Edition

ElvisHairJailhouse

Ladies and gentlemen, presented above, I give you the creepiest item I have found on eBay to date.

I am sure there is worse out there, and that this just scratches the surface. I don’t even want to know what lays below that surface.

While the whole point of this piece is to venture into the abyss, buying a dead man’s hair just seems a tad too far. I didn’t even know hair could last that long. The government must have made some special technology for Elvis to make hair last forever and they are waiting to tell the rest of us common folk about it. While this likely isn’t the weirdest thing you can buy online, I think that anyone who buys it should probably be put on a CIA Watch List just in case.

Yet, I continue on, searching for eBay’s weirdest, creepiest, and sometimes coolest pieces of movie memorabilia. With the exception of the above item, this week was a surprisingly low key week. There were even a few people who were honest about the items they were selling. But that doesn’t mean that they still won’t try and overcharge you.

Once again, come down the rabbit hole with me for this week’s roundup of movie memorabilia on eBay:

Continue reading

Harold Ramis: A Comedian’s Comedian, and a Jack of all Comedy Trades

Harold-Ramis

Harold Ramis, during his Barton Fink look-a-like days

Actor, writer, director, and producer Harold Ramis died earlier today in his home. He had been battling illness for a long time. He was 69.

Ramis’ body of work is extraordinary. He started as an improviser and during his long career, he wrote and starred in such 80s classics as “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes.” He has had small but memorable roles in modern comedy classics like “Orange County,” “Walk Hard,” and “Knocked” Up.” He also directed the likes of “Caddyshack” and “Analyze This.” Let’s not talk about “Year One.”

Continue reading

Oscars 2014: Who Will Win

Oscars-Heroes

Bow down to the almighty golden bald man!

If cinema is a religion, then the Oscars are its biggest holiday.

I mean this in the same way that sports are also like a religion, and the Super Bowl is its Christmas. If sports are the biggest religion, then cinema is a much smaller one, and one that you might have to be crazy to follow. Fittingly, movies are like Scientology. And it is ironic that the ceremony focuses on bowing down to a golden idol, given that the main participators are typically Jewish and idol worship is a no-no if you’re up to date with your Torah studies. I understand some of you are waiting to binge read it later.

Anyway, the Oscars do what any good holiday should do: distract us from the cold, dark world. Without the Oscars and all of the other precursors leading up to it, all we would have is “I, Frankenstein” and “Endless Love.”

This year, the Oscars seem to have gone somewhat under the radar. Maybe it is because they are in March this year, or maybe it is because “The Lego Movie” distracted us all with its awesomeness. Either way, the Oscars are still happening this year, and I still have thoughts on them.

This actually happens to be a very exciting year for the Oscars. The ceremony will cap off a fantastic year of film and this year, there is an edge of unpredictability to it. Could there be a tie? Could Leo finally win his first Oscar this year? Is Judi Dench the British version of Meryl Streep? Will I make more dumb religious analogies? I will try and answer some of these questions today.

Here is who I think will win this year at the Academy Awards:

Continue reading

Weekly Roundup of Movie Memorabilia on eBay: Useless Currency Edition

stock-footage-businessman-thinking-about-money-in-a-thought-bubble-against-white-background

Of all of the stock photos involving money that I found, this one is by far the best.

In maybe the funniest scam of the century, you can use your real money to buy fake money on the Internet. Of course, the only stipulation is that said fake money must have been used in a movie. You can buy that fake money, put it under your mattress for a few years, wait for that movie to suddenly become a classic, and then sell it for even more money. Hey, it sounds more legitimate than those cash for gold commercials. Sorry, I just don’t trust any old dude in a cowboy hat who tries to sell me things.

During my search on eBay this week, I found many different currencies from many different countries, some real and some made up. There’s all of that as well as your weekly dose of weirdness, inaccuracies, and general confusion. Plus, you will also find what doesn’t technically count as a movie prop, but is still one of the coolest things I have ever found on eBay.

Once again, come down the rabbit hole with me for this week’s roundup of movie memorabilia on eBay:

Continue reading

Movie Review: RoboCop (2014)

Joel KinnamanThe news that there would be a remake of “RoboCop” was met with hostility from both the press and fans of the 1987 original. I have yet to see the original. My bad, guys.

This did end up working to my advantage, however, because I had no bias going into this remake. Whatever this movie did, it would not feel like it was ruining any part of my childhood. As a movie, “RoboCop” could have done much, much worse. However, it is just there. It doesn’t do much, and it doesn’t contribute much to the character or sci-fi itself. It just kind of expects you to be thrilled.

Continue reading

Movie Review: The Lego Movie

LEGO

Every once in a while, a film needs to come around that alleviates all of your worries and reminds you that everything is awesome. As the main song suggests, “The Lego Movie” is exactly what you are looking for.

“The Lego Movie” is the movie that I had no idea I was waiting for. Even after waiting a week to see it, the hype does not tamper its impact at all. “The Lego Movie” proves that you don’t have to be Pixar to create something that is both great for kids and the annoyed parents that they drag with them to the movies.

Continue reading

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days: A Love/Hate Relationship with Rom-Coms

1329146834_how-to-lose-a-guy-in-10-days-640Valentine’s Day is to Romantic Comedies what Halloween is to Horror Films: Apparently the only time of the year when it is okay to talk about them. Come on, nobody wants to read about your feelings about “The Evil Dead” in July.

Some of you might already know how I feel about horror films. What you might not know is that I don’t know how to feel about rom-coms. It is a genre that I have greatly enjoyed during a few very brief occasions, and then hated on most others. It is a genre that is already a subdivision of one genre, yet there are so many subdivisions within it as well.

Rom-Coms are not as simple as they may seem. When it comes to rom-coms, I guess you can say that It’s Complicated (Thank you! Thank you very much! I’ll be here all week).

Continue reading

Weekly Roundup of Movie Memorabilia on eBay: The Titanic Business Edition

TitanicDealer

According to scientists, about 95% of the world’s ocean remains unexplored. One could say the same about eBay.

Today is a day that will live in infamy. It is the day that the Velociraptor Cage from “Jurassic Park,” which influenced this post, was no longer listed on eBay. It’s whereabouts, and the final price it was sold for, will remain shrouded in history.

But you know what they say: if you love something set it free. So from that we move on to this week’s selection of memorabilia. Folks, this week did not disappoint. In fact, I found so many that I will have to save them for another post.

I learned a lot from this week’s selection. Mainly that there are a lot of “Titanic” props on eBay. Enough so that being a “Titanic Prop Dealer” (as seen in the certificate above) is an actual job title that someone can have. Given what an epic film that is, I believe there will be no shortage of props until the day somebody finally begins selling off chunks of the actual boat. Seriously, the “Titanic” prop business is just about big enough that it could be listed on the NASDAQ. Also, let me just note that I have absolutely no idea what can get you listed on the NASDAQ; I just heard Walter White say this on “Breaking Bad” once and it sounded cool.

Anyway, come and join me for yet another exciting trip down the eBay rabbit hole:

Continue reading

Oscars 2014: Who Should Win

Lemmons

Maybe it is just me, but the Oscars are taking place kind of late this year. While the ceremony usually happens in late February, this year it is being held the first weekend of March.

Okay, so it is only about a week later than usual, but that one week makes a slightly big difference. I have a feeling that it has something to do with the Olympics (thanks for that one, Putin). What that really means is that there has been this multi-week period since the nominations were announced that the Oscars have been barely in the news, except for the occasional precursor awards. Don’t worry though, in about two weeks, the Oscar hype will come back in full force.

At that point, it will be time to get serious with the nominations. Now, it is time to have some fun with them, and I mean “fun” in a very loose way. There is nothing fun about snubbing “Inside Llewyn Davis.” Anyway, voters always have the tendency to get it wrong in at least a few of the categories. While I am not a voter, I have a movie blog so I can just pretend I’m voting anyway. I love technology.

If the world were actually a right and just place, here is who and what would win in the top Oscar categories this year:

Continue reading

Analog This: Kroll Show Is The Sketch Show I’ve Been Waiting For

lizandliz

I can’t stop laughing at this. Image via Hulu

I have a theory about people who say they hate certain funny TV shows*: they’ve never actually watched a full episode of that show.

Maybe they have seen five minutes of the actual show, but mostly  they have just watched the commercials for it. “Don’t judge a book by its cover” is a cliche, but it applies especially well to comedy. Even I have fallen victim to the commercial trap before (a dumber version of me once said “that show “Arrested Development” looks stupid”), and it seems to really be taking a hold on “Kroll Show.” This is a shame, as “Kroll Show” also happens to be one of the funniest shows on television right now.

Continue reading