Father's Day Cards

According to the National Retail Federation's 2010 data American's are estimated to have spent 749 million dollars on Father's Day Cards this year.

Remember the movie Mr. Deeds? I wonder what Greeting Cards he would have written this year. Maybe some hiuku and touching Father's Day Cards.

While this number seems pretty high for the paper products, in a way, I'm glad to see that facebook greetings and eCards have not taken over as well.

Happy Father's Day!

Mark Ruffalo: 2010, Where The Rubber Meets the Road

If you say the name Mark Ruffalo to most people, I have a feeling they'll know this actors name.

I'm tempted to say, that Ruffolo has yet to do any truly outstanding acting worthy of grand stardom or acclaim, but I think most people find Ruffolo's characters generally like-able and playing roles as a relatable every man. Some emotion, some passion but nothing extreme.

And I think Ruffolo owes his name recognition and branding to the variety of types of films he's been in, everything from 13 Going on 30 opposite Jennifer Garner, to a soldier in John Woo's Windtalkers, roles in artistic films like Blindness, or small dramatic films like We Don't Live Here Anymore or You Can Count on Me.


And I feel like Ruffolo's greatest role to date in my book is his performance in David Fincher's Zodiac. This was good casting, and Ruffalo did a great job.

It seems to me that 2010 is a year that Ruffolo's exposure as a "serious actor" really is hitting the test. He has already performed the role of Chuck Aule in Martin Scorcese's Shutter Island (pictured right), and he has the lead male role in the anticipated award contender The Kids Are All Right (pictured above).

In The Kids Are All Right Ruffolo plays the sperm donor of two children who re-enters the scene when the children are older. This is the type of role that if embraced could lead to some high awards recognition for Ruffolo.

In addition to this there's the small film Margaret finally coming out, as well as Ruffolo's directorial debut Sympony for Delicious. Oh yea, and that Steve Carrell/Tina Fey project Date Night.

I haven't heard Ruffolo's name being tossed around for any substantial future projects, although it does seem like he's been busy.

So after this year, I think studios get to decide, who is Ruffolo, and is his name worth throwing on the poster and placed in a prominent role, and if so, what type of films...is he a romantic comedy fluff actor, an indie house favorite, or can he carry a detective thriller.

Will Zwick do it in 2010 with Love & Other Drugs?

Edward Zwick is this director on the fringe.

Not because he's overly "artsy" or makes irrelevant films, rather his fringe status in my mind comes from the fact he's never been nominated for best director.

Yet at the same time I have this feeling that there's been years where he's been a close runner up to the top 5 for Oscars.

In 2008, I began to speculate about whether Edward Zwick would get an Oscar nomination for his film Defiance.

Zwick, did not.

In fact, Defiance only received 1 Academy Award nomination, and that was for Best Original Score (James Newton Howard).

Zwick has received two nominations (including 1 win) as a producer for Traffic and Shakespeare and Love, which went on to win the Zwick an Oscar. But still he's never received a nomination for one of his own films, or for his directing.

Other Zwick directed films and there Oscar pedigree includes

• Defiance (nominated for 1 Oscar, neither best pic or director)
• The Blood Diamond (nominated for 5 Oscars, but not for pic or director)
• The Last Samurai (nominated for 4 Oscars, but not for pic or director)
• The Siege
• Courage Under Fire
• Legends of the Fall (nominated for 3 Oscars, 1 win, but nothing for pic or director)
• Glory (won 3 of it's 5 nods, but no nod for picture or director)

Will Zwick finally join the director's club in 2010 with his film Love and Other Drugs?

Love and Other Drugs is based on Jamie Reidy's memoir Hard Sell: The Evolution of a Viagra Salesman.

This film is set to be released around Thanksgiving, not because November is a favorite time of year for film about male performance enhancing drugs, but rather because its seems pretty clear that expectations are high for this to be one of this year's must see award caliber films.

The film stars Jake Gyllenhaal as the blue pill peddler, Jamie Reidy. Other co-stars include Anne Hathaway, Oliver Platt, and Judy Greer.

This could be Zwick's year, and with a 10 picture Oscar field, the picture nomination is certainly on my radar for one of my current predictions.

Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Pittsburgh addicted to Gyllenhaal's 'Love and Drugs'"

Father O'Malley: A Spiritual Leader in Film

Last month I talked about the role of priest/clergy/pastors in film. My complaint was that the stereotype either has them as sleezy rule breakers or the overly sweet and irrelevant rule follower.

So it was this frustration I was pleasantly pleased with the film Going My Way.

This film doesn't just have a priest in it's rank of principle characters, but rather stars 3, with Bing Crosby playing the lead in his academy award winning role of Father Chuck O'Malley.

Crosby's character is not only endearing, but relevant. His character's love of God and people is undeniable, and yet, those two loves don't prevent him from having a variety of friends, street smart, and a creative passion.

It's crazy to me to think that this movie came out over 60 years ago, because I feel like some of the ideas in this film are the same ideas that religious people discuss when they discuss and dream about what it looks like to be a relevant post-modern Christian. Interestingly, a 1940s version of that concept is pictured here.

In a scene with a couple presumably far away from God, they ask questions about faith and how Father O'Malley doesn't seem like a typical priest. Instead of preaching to them, he shares his own dreams of sharing truth in a song and then sings the title song "Going My Way" about his confidence of where he's going, and hopes other people will follow him. There is implied change that occurs in these people upon Father O'Malley's time with them.

Similarly the other major priest in this film, Father Fitzgibbon (Barry Fitzgerald) has his own unique cinematic arch, and while he's more of the aging old-style priest image, he really brings the comedic virtue of this film, as well as the touching heart of this film along side Father O'Malley.

Oscar Trivia, Fitzgerald's double nomination:

Going My Way won 7 Oscars including Best Picture. Included in that count were Bing Crosby who won Best Actor, and Barry Fitzgerald who won best supporting.

Barry Fitzgerald was interestingly enough also nominated for Best Actor that same year, and for the same role.

That's right, Fitzgerald was up for Best Actor & Best Supporting Actor, with both nominations being for a role in the same film. Talk about a anomaly that messes with statistics!

The rules were changed so this would not happen going forward. But no one else but Fitzgerald can claim there performance was so good it received two Oscar nominations.

Photo credits with relevant accompanying articles: Bing Crosby with the boys from Classic Film & TV cafe, and Fitzgerald image from Oscar at a Glance.

Mid Year Best Picture Predictions: 50 Potentials Ranked

Do you feel like this film year is doomed? That award season is hopeless?

Here's 50 films that could potential be Oscar best picture contenders. 10 films will be nominated, they could come from this group of 50, and I've ranked them based off my current assessment (talent, buzz, distribution, premise, personal bias).

It's a given that in June you can assume that the Academy Award best picture nominations are up in the air as most of the potential nominees are riding on hype and possibility, since no one has actually seen most of these films yet.

However fallible this list might be, I'm ready to jump into award season despite the fact this year's brought more stink than excitement.

Filling 10 spots at first seemed challenging, but that's only due to lack of overtly clear front runners, not due to lack of potentials.

Of course, some nominees could be missed...especially if films get fast-tracked, or a surprise foreign master piece burst into onto the film calendar. Here's hoping! There's could be far more than 50 contenders for the 10 spots.

Feel free to follow the links to previous StrangeCulture post about these films where available. And share your thoughts on these rankings or which films you'd like to see discussed further on strange culture.

Creating an "air of potential" here's my mid-year ranked list of 50 potential best picture nominees...

If I Had To Choose 10
1. The Way Back (dir. Peter Weir)
2. True Grit (dir. Joel & Ethan Coen)
3. Miral (dir. Julian Schnabel)
4. Love and Other Drugs (dir. Edward Zwick)
5. The Kids Are All Right (dir. Lisa Cholodenko)
6. Inception (dir. Christopher Nolan)
7. Another Year (dir. Mike Leigh)
8. Hereafter (dir. Clint Eastwood)
9. Never Let Me Go (dir. Mark Romanek)
10. Get Low (dir. Aaron Schneider)

The Rest
11. The Tree of Life (dir. Terrence Malick)
12. The Fighter (dir. David O. Russell)
13. Conviction (previously Betty Anne Watters) (dir. Tony Goldwyn)
14. Everything You've Got (dir. James L. Brooks)
15. Biutiful (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
16. The King's Speech (dir. Tom Hopper
17. The Social Network (dir. David Fincher)
18. Somewhere (dir. Sofia Coppola)
19. Toy Story 3 (dir. Lee Unkrich)
20. Black Swan (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
21. The Next Three Days (dir. Paul Haggis)
22. Jack Goes Boating (dir. Phillip Seymore Hoffman)
23. The Debt (dir. John Madden)
24. Animal Kingdom (dir .David Michôd)
25. Secretariat (dir. Randall Wallace)
26. Shutter Island (dir. Martin Scorsese)
27. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger (dir. Woody Allen)
28. The Conspirator (dir. Robert Redford)
29. Eat, Pray, Love (dir. Ryan Murphy)
30. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (dir. Oliver Stone)
31. Howl (dirs. Rob Epstein & Jeffery Friedman)
32. Robin Hood (dir. Ridley Scott)
33. Tamara Drewe (dir. Stephen Frears)
34. The American (dir. Anton Corbijn)
35. London Boulevard (dir. William Monahan)
36. Brighton Rock (dir. Rowan Joffe)
37. Fair Game (dir. Doug Liman)
38. The Rum Diary (dir. Bruce Robinson)
39. The Company Men (dir. John Wells)
40. Love Ranch (dir. Taylor Hackford)
41. The Tempest (dir. Julie Taymor)
42. Rabbit Hole (dir. John Cameron Mitchell)
43. How To Train Your Dragon (dirs. Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders)
44. Winter's Bone (dir. Debra Granik)
45. The Town (dir. Ben Affleck)
46. The Beaver (dir. Jodie Foster)
47. What's Wrong With Virginia (dir. Dustin Lance Black)
48. Nowhere Boy (dir. Sam Taylor Wood)
49. Blue Valentine (dir. Derek Cianfrance)
50. Barney's Version (dir. Richard J. Lewis)

This at least gives us something to start with...we can whittle it down as the year goes on. There's a lot of room for failure and great surprises in this list.

The Long Walk & The Way Back

I've just finished the memoir The Long Walk: The True Story of a Trek to Freedom by Slavomir Rawicz which has been adapted into The Way Back by Peter Weir.

Here are some of my thoughts on the book as well as how reading this impacts my thoughts on the adaptation. I will avoid excessive spoilers, but some basic premise's of Rawicz' life and this story are inevitable. So be warned.

The Long Walk

The Long Walk is a story by Slavomir Rawicz (ghost written by Ronald Downing) which chronicalizes an epic, tragic, and heroic story that begins with Rawicz, a Polish soldier, captured and imprisoned during WWII by the Russian's on charges of espionage. These charges came as a result of his ability to speak Russian, and through horrific means the USSR men forced a confession.

In all honesty, this part of the story while important and sad, is the least interesting, because it's only the set up for the journey that begins when he's finally charged and sent to travel by train across Russia to Irkutsk in Siberia. Then alongside other prisoners they were forced to take a walk to a prison camp much further north into the desolate reaches of the Soviet Republic where they worked in a labor camp on meager rations.

It is here in the story that it get's interesting, because this puts us in a time when Rawicz gathers other men within the camp for a calculated escape. Rawicz and 6 other men make an escape.

These men make a determination to head South, and the remainder of the book tells the story of their journey which includes a challenging trek through the Siberia, avoiding all contact with any possible, fearful to even make a fire due to the fear of recapture. From Siberia they head encounter Mongols, Chinese, Tibetans, and live off unprecedented survival skills, the hospitality of villagers, and some impressive endurance.

Besides the impressive endurance required to escape Siberia, they also travel through the Gobi Desert and over the Himalayas. It is particularly the passage through the Gobi Desert that is incredibly interesting and incredible.

This title is no hyperbole, as the walk, is a long one, that spans over 4000 miles and over 12 months. It's an impressive journey that is absolutely jaw dropping and amazing.

Would I recommend this book, most absolutely, it's a pretty incredible story.

The Reality/Historic Record/The Feeling at the End

(This section contains spoilers)

The end of this book, like many memoirs and true stories leaves you with some questions. And a little research will lead to some disappointments.

Questions you ask are things like what happened to the survivors of this journey? Did they ever meet again? Basic questions of that nature.

In doing some very basic research you discover that many believe, based on historical records of the Polish Army, that Rawicz is recorded to have been allowed to leave the labor camp in 1942 and upon his return left for Iran. Perhaps this is inaccurate, but the banality of this data compared with the incredible and awe inspiring story that are held in the pages of this book certainly creates some doubt.

Of course, that seems like modern skepticism to doubt, but the fact that only Rawicz has come forward of the other characters mentioned in this story heightens my skepticism more than anything else. Instead these people are enigmas, that never really existed, or perhaps were based on acquaintances at the prison camp.

In many ways this stinks of other fictitious memoirs I've discussed on this blog including the very similar lie Angel at the Fence and the well publicized fiction of A Million Little Pieces.

It's possible that The Long Walk would have made an excellent novel, but the power of "based on a real story" certainly makes things seem more powerful. But once holes are blown into the reality of the story, it sort of ruins the whole feeling you have about a book.

That being said, it's an incredibly captivating story, and could still be very enjoyable historical adventure novel.

The Way Back

Based on the controversy of the historical record, I think Weir was wise to re-title this something different from the book and give the characters new names. This forces the story into a fictional retelling (not to mention moves it a way from the title of Nelson Mandela's memoir and A Stephen King novel).

Jim Sturgess appears to be playing the Rawicz character who hear is named Janusz. This is a really great character, and I think Jim Sturgess has an excellent chance to give himself some powerful credibility with a powerful performance in this role.

This film also stars Colin Farrell, who's performances are consistently inconsistent. So I'm hopeful that Farrell does not disappoint.

Two of my favorite characters from the story is a character named Mr. Smith and a young lady name Kristina.

In the film, it would appear very clearly that Ed Harris is playing this "Mr. Smith" character, who's name happens to be in the film...Mr. Smith. This character is an older (but not old) member of the bunch who is an American prisoner convicted by the Russians. Mr. Smith has a unique type of silent authority in the group, and I think Harris is a fantastic casting choice.

Kristina in the story is a young woman who is also a refuge in the Siberian wilderness who become a member of the band of prison escapes. Although they are very skeptical of her joining their band when they encounter her, the bond that forms in the story with her very touching and moving. This character appears to be translated into a character named Irena who will be played by the young Oscar nominated actress Saoirse Ronan. I think this is another exceptional casting decision, and am interested to see Ronan take on this unique and challenging role.

This film really has a great opportunity to stand out as a gem of the film season, and I am certainly interested in seeing it, and hope it lives up to my personal expectations for this film.

Photo credits: Ed Harris and Colin Farrell image top of post from Daemon's Movies. The image of the book comes from a post with a very positive review on Confessions of A Writer.

10 Random Thoughts: Whitney Houston, Independence Day, Shrek

1. Crowds are leaving in mass exodus' from Whitney Houston's recent concert performances for being off key, and weak vocally. How bad is it? That's pretty embarassing for the woman who's know for her strong vocal ability.

2. In the movie Holiday Inn, there's celebrations for Lincoln's Birthday, Easter, and Valentine's Day, among others. If a real Holiday Inn existed, I'd go for New Year's Eve. My wife said she's want to go for Independence Day.

3. Speaking of Independence Day, it's a little sad to think that we will have another 4th of July with no Will Smith movie this year. I'd rather see Smith at the theater, than The Last Airbender, but I'm crossing my fingers that Shymalan's film could potentially be something special.

4. I have this strange feeling that Will Smith's next round of films will all have numbers and roman numerals in the titles: Independence Day 2, Hancock 2, Men In Black III, I, Robot 2 and Bad Boys 3. It kind of is a statement on film studio creativity, isn't it.

5. I'm not too worried about Smith, but I am a little worried for Jim Carrey. Is his career winding down? His most recent film, playing a gay criminal I Love You Phillip Morris just had it's release date canceled by the California courts due to legal issues involving breach of contract by the distributor in paying the production company.

6. I wonder if the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will be portrayed in a documentary film or a dramatic film first?

7. McDonald's recall of the plastic Shrek glasses it's been selling due to material hazard concerns (out of an "over abundance of caution"). Now if they would just recall the most recent movie.

8. Shrek Forever After did win at the box office for a second week in a row. Granted it was up against some uninspiring new releases including the 68 minute film Marmaduke.

9 Guillermo Del Toro leaves as Hobbit director, but is to be replacing Sam Mendes in Oz The Great and Powerful, one of the 5 Oz films in the works. I think del Toro wants to out-weird Burton's Alice retelling.

10. Summer films are leaving little to be desired. I'm interested in see a little more hype for some award season contenders...please say the theater offerings will start to improve. Is there anything left this season worth hoping for?

Reel People: Aaron Johnson is John Lennon

The film is Nowhere Boy directed by Sam Taylor Wood. Matt Greenhalgh wrote the screenplay based on The Private John Lennon: The Untold Story from His Sister by Julia Baird.

John Lennon

John Winston Lennon was born to Julia and Alfred Lennon in Liverpool England, October 9, 1940. He was named after his paternal grandfather and Winston Churchill.

Lennon's father was a merchant seaman during WWII, and when he returned in 1944 to his family, he found Julia pregnant with another man's baby and not interested in Alfred's return. Julia also turned her son John into the hands of sister and her husband Mary "Mimi" and George Smith. Even though he lived with his aunt and uncle, he still saw his mother regularly.

With the Smith's Lennon was raised an Anglican. But was not overly religious himself.

Lennon was able to make it into high school but while there was considered a class clown. During Lennon's high school years his uncle died (1955), it would be three years later when Lennon's mother would die when struck by a car.

A year before Lennon's mother died, she had bought him a guitar, despite the fact that Lennon's aunt Mimi was hoping that Lennon would get more serious about his studies and that his fascination with music would subside. Lennon's fascination with music had led him at the age of 16 in 1956 to start a band called the Quarrymen, named after Quarry Bank High School where most of the members attended.

In 1957 Lennon met John McCartney at a concert in Woolten, and he shortly was invited to join the band. In 1958 McCartney arranged a meeting for Lennon to met George McCartney, and although Lennon thought Harrison too young, but was allowed into the band. This band shortly after became The Beatles.

By 1963 The Beatles had mainstream success in the UK, which was shortly followed by international stardom when they performed on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

During these years of fame, John Lennon's wife Cynthia Lennon (married 1962-1968), had a son Julian Lennon.

After a rise in popularity, a rise in controversy occurred, particularly with the 1966 controversy created by a quote in the American teen magazine Date Book, where Lennon gave the infamous quote: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that; I'm right and I'll be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first—rock 'n' roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."

This controversy coincided with a time when Lennon's use of LSD was greatly impacting his behavior and his song writing. It was during this time the unique Magical Mystery Tour launched and Yoko Ono having a unique pull on the band.

Yoko Ono and John Lennon were married March 20, 1969. It was during this time Ono and Lennon began making music together. In September of 1969 Lennon left the Beatles officially.

Lennon continued to write music, which often was associated either with peace issues, or emotions associated with childhood trauma.

In 1973, Ono and Lennon separated, and Lennon had a new girlfriend May Pang. They were together for 18 months, Lennon would re-unite with Ono, and in October of 1975 Lennon would have his second son Sean with Ono.

After Sean was born John became a family man and did not pursue his music career as he had previously.

December 8, 1980 John Lennon was assassinated by Mark David Chapman in an event that became an international tragedy. Ono made an announcement the following day that there would be no funeral for John, instead he was cremated in a quite way, and ashes scattered Ferncliffe Cemetery in New York.

Nowhere Boy

This film, tells the story based on Lennon's half sister Julia's memoir of Lennon's younger days in Liverpool. Aaron Johnson plays Lennon (Johnson is currently 19, so this film clearly focuses on the earlier portion of Lennon's life).

Anne Marie Duff plays his half sister Julia Baird and Kristin Scott Thomas plays his aunt, Mimi Smith.

The film received attention in the UK but has not yet been released in the US.

Could this film, or Aaron Johnson receive some award attention this year for his portrayal of this iconic Reel (Real) Person?

Unique Time Capsule: Ninotchka

I love the way that sometimes a film freezes a period in time, telling a story that can only be told in that very moment.

I recently watched the 1939 film Ninotchka, which was a film, that while could be re-made now as a period piece, is far more wonderful as a contemporary film.

Obviously in 1939 WWII was beginning in Europe, and this film acknowledges this by predating the film in an opening slide that alludes to the story taking place in an earlier time, although I sense that addition was an after thought of clarification for contemporary audiences.

This story stars Greta Garbo as a representative from the Soviet Republic who is sent to straighten out three comrades who are in over there head in a sale of confiscated jewels when the case becomes litigated.

An example of the the unique flavor this film has as a 1939 film is the way the Russians respond when they go to pick up the special envoy from the train station. In the scene there is a moment when they think they have identified their superior, but instead through mannerisms and a "Hale Hitler" realize he is in fact a German, not a Russian. These scene is used as comedy, in a way that might be balked at today.

But it fit the time, wasn't over kill for the time. Additionally, the humor about the Soviet Union was relevant to the time, there were jokes about the 5 year plan for example.

Like many films the content serves as a time capsule, and really speaks to the importance of contemporary films, including comedies, that deal with contemporary issues.

This a incredibly fun film, from the incredible film year 1939.

Ridiculous Nicolas

It's been awhile since I talked about how ridiculous Nicolas Cage is, or how dumb The Sorcerer's Apprentice movie looks (some expected slack was received on my gripe about this movie).

Is Cage really taking this seriously? He looks like pretty boy version of Mickey Rourke.

Star Wars Cookie Cutters

I remember seeing these William-Sanoma cookie cutters in a catalogue, and kind of laughed, but then saw them to today in person at Williams-Sanoma in the flesh.

Not only did I see these cookie cutters, where one could make there own Storm Trooper sugar cookies...I also so a grown man, with a Star Wars cookie cutter set tucked under his arm.

Now, who can truly judge the situation, but I do not think he was getting this for his kids...he didn't look like the type of guy who had kids.

In fact, he didn't look like the type of guy who had been to the cookware store before...but he did look like he'd seen Star Wars many, many, many times. You know the type.

Now, Darth Vadar is frostered very nicely, but can you imagine what the majority of these cookies look like after being frosted by "Comic-Con" types...the detail, even in the Darth Vadar frosting work in the cookies, is challenging enough, not to mention the work you see pictured for Boba Fett.

Now granted, some of these cookies might turn out nice, but I'm picturing a neon green smiley faces, black ghost with white sunglasses, white ghost with black eyes and goatees, and a whole bunch of people who skip Boba Fett all together.

Indy 500: Film & 4 Women

The first Indy 500 race was in 1911, but due to races being canceled during WWI and WWII, this weekend's race will be the 94th.

As the biggest motor race of the year, the Indy 500 has been not only a part of sports history but pop culture as well.

Film

There has actually been a surprisingly high number of car racing films (and successful one's at that) including Cars, Days of Thunder, Fast and Furious, and Talladega Nights: The Legend of Ricky Bobby.

None of those successful stories deal directly with the race held memorial day week at Indianapolis Speedway.

But that doesn't mean there hasn't been films, just not necessarily popular films that have withstood time.

Films about the Indianapolis 500: Racing Hearts (1922), Speedway (1929), The Crowd Roars (1932), Speed (1936), The Big Wheel (1949), To Please a Lady (1950), and Winning (1969). [Image of Paul Newman from Winning, pictured above]

Surprisingly the Indy race was featured more in the first 50 years of the race, then in the most recent 50 years.

4 Women

One of the interesting evolutions of racing has been the addition of women to the race. Unlike most sports, as women have entered the sport, they compete alongside men, not in separate races.

This year's Indy 500 stands apart in that of the 33 qualifiers for the race, 4 of them are women, the most ever. These women (Sarah Fisher, Danica Patrick, Ana Beatriz, and Simona Silveresti) owe there opportunity to Janet Guthrie (pictured left) who was the first woman to race in the Indy 500 in 1976.

It will be interesting to see how the movie Secretariat performs this year, as a story about Penny Chenery a woman in the world of horse racing. If that film is successful, I have a feeling studios could be wise to snatch up an woman race car film, such as the story of Janet Guthrie.

Parenthood Season 1 Finale Thoughts

While the rest of the world is interested in the Lost series finale, Kim & I were waiting for last night's season finale of NBC's Parenthood. (*we're interested in Lost, too, we're just behind so avoiding any information or spoilers).

We've some how got ourselves wrapped into the story of the Braverman siblings and their four families. After it's mid-season introduction post this past February, we've enjoyed watching every episode, despite what sometimes is dramatized stories that tie-up into fuzzy little bows like episodes of Full House.

But maybe that's what we like. My wife, Kim, cries on average 3 times per episode, with touching or dramatic displays of familial love and commitment.

The season finale was no exception.

My wife, likens herself to the Julia Braverman-Graham's character (Erika Christensen), the high power working Mom, who's sometimes wants to care, but has a hard time showing too much compassion for the stay at home with breast enhancement surgery...oops, receipt in the soup. Kim loves the situations and scenes that play up these traits, and Julia's scenes were a little less involved in the finale so she left the season finale a little disappointed.

Otherwise, there was still plenty to cry about with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end, with a full family baseball event just like the show began. This time though, displaced Drew (Miles Heizer) is playing ball instead of Aspergers Max (Max Burkholder).

I thought about making a list of my favorite and least characters, but I'd hate for studio execs to think that I wanted Monica Potter's character to get killed off or anything because she'd be at the bottom of the list...because, it's not that type of show, and even the weaker characters have their endearing place. (Including Joel, Julia's husband who really only has on average 1 line per episode, or Drew who disappeared for 3 episodes).

Of course, Lauren Graham is always entertaining, as is her daughter Amber played by Mae Whitman.

And in many ways, this is Lauren Graham and Peter Krause's show. They play a great sibling pair, and Julia & Crosby (Christensen and Dax Shephard) do a great job mixing it up providing comedy usually more than sentimentalism, while Craig T. Nelson brings his own brand of grumpy old man humor.

Hooray, for a second season of the show. We're excited that Ron Howard's second attempt at a show called "Parenthood" has outlast his 1990 attempt...because we enjoy watching this show every week.

Sweet Baby Jesus - Not Quite a BioPic

Pixie Lott. Maybe if I was in to the British pop scene, I would have heard of this new artist known for her 2009 singles "Mama Do (Uh Oh, Uh Oh), "Boys and Girls," "Cry Me Out" and 2010 singles "Gravity" and "Turn it Up" (all off her debut platinum album Turn it Up).

Pixie Lott (pictured above) is about to headline in a film...as a 1st Century celebrity. Mary, mother of Jesus.

Production and casting has kicked into gear for this film with a potential late fall 2010 release. The film is called Sweet Baby Jesus, which is a comedy from director Peter Hewitt, who delivered ridiculously unimpressive films such as Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey, Garfield, and Zoom.

Sweet Baby Jesus tells a 1970s retelling of the nativity, with Pixie Lott playing hippie Mary.

Kim Catrell plays Mary's mom, and Bette Midler plays the guest house owner in Bethlehem, Maryland.

Not sure what to make of this comedy.

Perhaps it's the quote from director Peter Hewitt that really gets my head scratching...

"The script has fun subverting the treasured details of the Nativity, posing the question, 'What would we do if it all happened again?' "

- Peter Hewitt as quoted in Variety