We’re all waiting for the latest movie in a certain franchise that takes place in a galaxy far, far away, (you’ve probably got “DECEMBER 18” circled in red on your calendar, and may have stood in line for advance tickets - kudos to you, mama). Once you have ridden the Millennium Falcon again (and maybe once more for good measure), what else will you do with those long days of winter break? Here’s the schedule family-friendly releases for those days when a movie seems like a really, really good idea.
Like any relationship, you enter into it with the best of intentions: some light entertainment, perhaps some drama, something to talk about the next day at work. Before you know it, you’re sucked in, spending your time going over the fine details, frustrated, angry and ready to just walk away. Except you can’t, because they’re there for you, week after week - maybe even day after day: soaps.
I am such a TV nerd that I mark up "Fall Preview" issues of magazines to make sure I keep track of new shows, and, in the days of VCRs, I would actually create my own time table to make sure I maximized viewing. Have I earned your TV trust yet? Here's what I've watched so far in the new crop - and what I think is worth your time.
I’ve noticed a disturbing trend with my two young boys recently: they seem to be turning into their own people. People with tastes, opinions, and ideas about things. And those ideas include how they entertain themselves. And it’s getting annoying.
This brassy, sassy broad has ruled over stage and screen for almost 40 years and is all kinds of right if you want a role model for young girls or just want to spend your time on someone who you think would make a great best friend. Not conventionally beautiful, Bette’s screen presence and sheer charisma put you on her side the second her characters appear.
What to do when you’ve already binge-watched your way through your latest obsession, seen every kids’ movie available and you are just plain out of ideas come movie night?
Check in here! We’re whipping up a little series called Spend Some Time With that may remind you of old favourites, uncover hidden gems, or at least give you a few refreshing ideas to go with that popcorn.
When you’re a mom of two (or one, or five) a night out tends to become something really special. Leaving the house, fully dressed, about to eat a meal that is not served on a colouring sheet or seeing a show that does not involve people dressed in foam suits (well, usually, but what you are into on your own time is your business) is a wonderful treat that tends to come all too seldom.
I now have a son old enough to realize the internet is a treasure trove of time-wasting delights. He’s moved on from phone apps that are “free” (Can you buy me this bag of imaginary digital crap that doesn’t actually exist for $4.99 so I can get further in the game?) and is now thoroughly entranced by YouTube. (Parental control settings, how I love thee.)
In a show that features regular, close-up images of extreme torture, not to mention sexy time with everyone’s naughty bits on display, you thought Canadians couldn’t handle a breastmilk scene?
(SPOILERS AHEAD: you may not want to read further if you haven’t seen the May 10 episode of Outlander.)
First of all, there is no cooler female character on TV right now than Jenny Murray (the hubs likes her better than Claire and asked me if we’d see her again when she and Claire parted ways!)
FOX, how could you? Do you not hear the anguished cry of a million Mindys across North America, drowning their sorrows at the doughnut shop?
There are talks to move The Mindy Project to a streaming service and it’s looking good with Hulu. WHICH CANADIANS CAN’T GET (without a fancy IP-masking workaround, that is. And I like to keep my television nice and legal, people.)
It may seem a strange thing for an entertainment blogger to confess…but I think you should all know as the hype cranks up again that I have never seen a single episode, not a minute, not even a preview, of Game of Thrones, ever. And I’m OK with that.
Duck! The Internets are exploding with news that Full House will be getting a reboot courtesy of Netflix, where apparently they are drunk with the power of their newfound ability to make television hits.
How else to explain this half-baked and silly plan? This time out, it’s DJ Tanner all grown up (and still going by “DJ”?). She’s a recently widowed veterinarian who will need Kimmy Gibbler to come live with her and sort her mess of kids out.
It's one of those passings that hits you particularly hard. Actor Jonathan Crombie, best known as the embodiment of Gilbert Blythe in the Anne of Green Gables miniseries from the 1980s, passed away April 15 at age 48 from a brain hemorrhage. As always, the saddest part of grief is realizing just how how much you loved someone who departed.
To those of us who are a certain age (and probably a generation forward and back of that) who grew up on Anne in the beloved Kevin Sullivan TV miniseries, this man was Gilbert Blythe.
Tighten your corset, don your kilt (and maybe find a place to stash away that dirk in case of trouble): Outlander is back on TV this Sunday!
For those who may be wondering where else the absorbing, genre-blending, time-hopping story could be going, the answer is that the adventure has really just begun. (And for those of you who have the telephone-book sized novels piled up permanently beside your bed: no spoilers!)
Thousands of tissues and Twitter feeds coated in teen & tween tears have been shed over the announcement that Zayn Malik will be leaving One Direction, taking the band down to four members.
In his statement, he announced that he was leaving to pursue a normal life: "I am leaving because I want to be a normal 22 year-old who is able to relax and have some private time out of the spotlight.”
Finally, movie studios have figured out a way to get us back to the theatre: show old movies we loved when we were growing up!
For the bargain price of a movie ticket and the 950% margin on theatre snacks, you can deeply immerse yourself in all the nostalgia of what is now a very bygone age and enjoy films that, in their original release, could never be interrupted by a beeping cell phone…because there weren’t any! Can you really recreate an authentic experience from your youth? Is it worth your money, your afternoon, and maybe even paying a sitter to try?
I spent a lot of hours on the 87th Annual Academy Awards, and here, as a movie lover, is what I can recommend: It’s well past time to stop playing it safe and stop apologizing for who and what the Oscars are about. It’s millionaires awarding other millionaires for highly subjective work. And we love it! And it’s OK to love it. The bland pantomime of recent ceremonies (nobody weird gets invited anymore, except John Travolta, and I’m betting his invitation is on the bubble), nobody wears anything outrageous anymore (Swan dress! AmEx dress!
I went to a seriously awesome 40th birthday party last night.
This thing - this party show celebrating SNL had everything - retro sketches, star-studded cameos…even a Bass-o-Matic. (It’s that thing…where they puree a fish…in a blender.)
The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special was just about the best show they’ve ever done, in a sweet spot of nostalgia tinged with comedic edge.
When all of the perforations have been torn, the candy hearts bagged, and you turn your mind to more grown-up versions of Valentine’s Day while shaking glitter out of your hair, staying in may just come to mind.
