Wherein I consider seeing “The Muppets” for a third time

The latest commercial idea was doomed from the start. It was a very promising idea. We had a cast lined up, then hit some resistance in finding a location. We could have carried on, but then our access to the camera fell through. So we were dead in the water and had to cancel. As it turns out, we would have been out of luck anyways, as Kaleen, one of our actors¹, had to go back home due to a death in the family. My condolences go to her and her family.

So that left me with a free Sunday that I had set aside to film. I don't know if you're all aware of this, but Christmas is apparently happening in about 7 days. Given that, my first plan for the day was Christmas shopping. A bit late? Perhaps. But I was able to get in and out, completing my shopping in about an hour and a half. ² So I guess all you people who braved Black Friday feel pretty stupid right about now.³

Next on my docket, cleaning my apartment. I let my apartment get much more out of hand than usual. As I was taking out the shocking amount of trash, I couldn't help feel everyone I passed judging me. I had two trash bags full of, among other things, fast food bags, and also a big stack of cardboard, including several pizza boxes and 2 or 4 pop boxes. When I ran into someone at the dumpster with only one bag of trash, I saw her staring at my unwieldy load. I had to explain, “This isn't just from this weekend. I just haven't cleaned my apartment in weeks”. She nodded awkwardly and walked away. It occurred to me about five minutes later that I probably should have said I just had a big party last night. That's something normal people do right?⁴

Finally⁵, I decided to get some people together to see the new Sherlock Holmes movie. Spoilers may follow. Just saying. Now I was pleasantly surprised by the first movie. Based on the trailer, I thought there were an awful lot of fistfights and explosions for Sherlock Holmes. Luckily, it turns out, the trailer showed all of the explosions and fistfights in the film, so the rest was filled with Holmesian goodness. The trailer for this new one looked very Michael Bay as well, so I was hoping for the same bait and switch. Sadly this was not the case, or at least not enough.

There were explosions, fistfights, and gunfights abound in the film. The plot felt a little League of Extraordinary Gentlemen⁶. Moriarty's motivation was a too bland for me. He's out to make money. Good for him. So is everybody. That's not reason enough to turn into a mustache twiddling villain employing bond-villain style theatrics. That said, I did enjoy the film, and if you enjoyed the first movie, I do recommend this one. I especially like the ending, along with the other elements pulled from the books. I consider myself to be in the mid-range of Sherlock Holmes mythos knowledge and saw it with someone who didn't know much of anything from the books. We both enjoyed it, so apparently pre-knowledge is not necessary.

After the movie I discovered I got a parking ticket. $20 for parking on the street facing the wrong direction. Well played, city of Columbus. Just low enough so I'll pay it without really caring.

In other news, “The Dark Knight Rises” full trailer leaked online. It looks awesome. Also the careful observer will notice a treat at the end. The ‘effin Bat-Jet.

⁷






Now here's my random thoughts from the night:
--Would Andy Kaufman be proud of the humor that makes the SNL Christmas Song so funny? Every year that they do it, it just gets funnier.
--How did the people behind Night at the Museum 2 fail to see what made the first movie work?
--Since I want to write movies, time I spend watching movies is totally justifiable as research, right? ⁸
--Is the fine for parking more than 1 foot from the curb $17 because someone made a passionate speech at a city council meeting? Good for you, hypothetical person.


¹I remember being told a while ago that the correct terminology was actor, gender be damned. Unless they have blond(e) hair.
²Most of that spent blocking people's way as I texted various people for various ideas about various presents. Various.
³Don't feel bad though. You should have felt stupid weeks ago.
⁴Or so I've read.
⁵Because let's face it, I'm just not able to do more than 3 things in 1 day.
⁶The original graphic novels are amazing. You should read it. In fact, why are you reading this? You should go read that. Although the author of this is at least 35% less likely to be a crazy person living in a cabin in the woods.
⁷Exhibit A: ‘effin Bat-Jet.
⁸Oh God, please tell me I'm right.