WATCHING:
Mean Girls
Starring: Tina Fey, Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Neil Flynn, Amanda Seyfried

Like Clueless, this movie is a not great but a touchstone pic.

I’m not the target audience of the movie – for tween females, I’d guess – but it’s still a sorta stupid but fun movie.

Formula movie – in this case, high school boy meets girl/girls bond[not] with others – that exceeds the formula.

Written by Tina Fey; any questions?

All movies

Thus far this so-called winters, we’ve broken records for most days in a row without snow (290+ days), days in a row without 1+ inches of snow (320ish), yet had some almost record-breaking cold.

Currently, it’s 63 degrees out there, and it’s raining like hell, with thunder and lightning, to boot. And because of the heavy rain and frozen (but snow-free) ground, we have flooding advisories, as the water is going to just run off paved and unpaved surfaces and collect at low ground.

The rain is supposed to give way to snow and much colder temperatures (hello icy roads!), and we’re supposed to see a high of 16 degrees on Friday – a swing of almost 50 degrees off today’s high.

This is what winter in Chicago is like this year: a smorgasbord of weather.

It’s like that old Mark Twain saying about New England – if you don’t like the weather, just wait a minute.

Wild.

Update Saturday Feb.2: Yesterday had early-morning temps of zero, and today we woke up to about 2-3 inches of snow. Roller coaster weather…

From Readwrite.com

From Slate.com

Personally, I don’t this is going to change Polaroid’s future much, but I also thought that the Apple store was a dumb idea. Yeah, I was obscenely wrong.

Time will tell…somebody’s got to be wrong.

It’s the time of the year for “Best of 2012” lists, including movie lists.

I’ve only seen a handful of 2012 flicks, and not the ones that’ll probably be up for Oscars, that’s for sure.

But it got me thinking: What are my current favorite movies of all time? Not necessarily the BEST movies of all time, but just my favorites.

Worth putting down, so in a decade or so I can re-read this list and silently curse myself for being such a tool.

Whatever – here goes, in no particular order (with the exception of the first one, which is probably my all-time fav):

• Casablanca – My all-time favorite, and it should be on virtually any list of best movies as well.
• The Dish – Quirky Australian film about the radio dish in that country that helped relay data from Apollo 11. Just fun.
• The Great Escape – Still my favorite Steve McQueen movie (but I’ve yet to see The Getaway). A blockbuster cast – it stars just about everyone – and the classic story of smart Allies beating the Nazis in WW2.
• About a Boy – In this British film, Hugh Grant plays a cad. How out of character, right? But here – was well as the movie below – Grant plays the role very well, and there is actually some emotional depth to his character.
• Four Weddings and a Funeral – A group of British friends party, marry and die together. An ensemble cast that just works (Andie McDowell plays, essentially, an American floozy).
• Toy Story – The first was the best to me, and still my favorite of all the Pixar and other CGI movies. It was a real breakout when it was first released for the technology, but it has a great story behind it, as well.
• Almost Famous – God love rock and roll. Based on Cameron Crowe’s real-life adventures as a 16-year-old Rolling Stone feature writer, this movie captures the soul of 70s music as well as any I can recall.
• The Maltese Falcon – Not as good as Casablanca, but the same brilliant writing, great minor characters (Peter Lorre is in both; deliciously weaselly in both). And it has a very different story to tell than Casablanca, one that is actually resonates more for the current year than the Moroccan tale.
• Groundhog Day – Wild premise (living the same day – Groundhog Day – over and over) sold by the brilliant acting of Bill Murray. I wonder how much of this was improvised. Like Murray or not, you have to give him credit for being so fast on his feet. I watched a Chicago Cubs game where he did color for Harry Carrey and I almost wet myself. Brilliant.
• Stealing Beauty – Flawed – for example, I think Jeremy Irons’ character could have been lost – but memorable for many other reasons. Beautiful scenery (Tuscany, Italy), a killer soundtrack and Liv Tyler.
• 500 Days of Summer – As the intro to the movie declares, this is a story about boy meets girl etc, but this is not a love story. Bittersweet. Great performances by Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, with nuanced supporting characters. Great soundtrack here, as well: This movie introduced me to Regina Spektor. Even if the movie sucked, it would make this list for that reason alone.

OK, I ended up with 11 movies. Sue me.